The IPHC Secretariat is conducting studies on Pacific halibut juvenile habitat and movement through conventional wire tagging, as well as studies that incorporate genomics approaches in order to generate useful information on population structure, distribution and connectivity of Pacific halibut. The relevance of research outcomes from these activities for stock assessment resides (1) in the introduction of possible changes in the structure of future stock assessments, as separate assessments may be constructed if functionally isolated components of the population are found (e.g. IPHC Regulatory Area 4B), and (2) in the improvement of productivity estimates, as this information may be used to define management targets for minimum spawning biomass by Biological Region.
