Understanding the Environmental Modeling and Uncertainty Evaluation Gap in Research Centers

1. If a Center is not doing EM and evaluating EM uncertainty, why not? • Three of the six Centers replied “N/A” because they in fact were doing EM and EM uncertainty. These Centers generally have devoted Ecosystem Divisions. • The other three Centers cited a lack of funding, which in turn led to a lack of the extra resources (personnel). This was partly due to the lack of a devoted Division, goal-oriented plan, and inertia. At the moment, stock assessment scientists are being asked to take on the task but the priority remains on single species assessments.

2. If a Center is not doing EM and evaluating EM uncertainty, why not? • Most Centers are doing some sort of EM. However, some efforts are more visible and organized than others. This is often a function of whether or not the Center has a devoted Division, what the respective Fisheries Management Councils have deemed important, availability of resources, availability of data, and perhaps the complexity of the system to be modeled.