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Size selectivity, movement rates among spatial strata, and size-dependent mortality rates were estimated from mark–recovery data of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis). Growth rates, area- and time-specific fishing mortality on fully vulnerable individuals, and tag return rates were assumed known from other data. We obtained similar estimates from a model that considered movement to take place immediately after tagging and a model that assumed that movement takes place once each year. The inability to distinguish between one-time and annual movement is most likely due to the fact that tagged juveniles were not recovered until 3–5 yr later when they became vulnerable to the adult fishery.

The use of management strategy evaluation (MSE) to design and test candidate fisheries management approaches is expanding globally. Participation of managers, scientists, and stakeholders should be an integral component of the MSE process. Open and effective communication among these groups is essential for the success of the MSE and the adoption of the management approach based on it. The highly technical nature of MSE and newness of the approach to many audiences present considerable communication challenges and have, unfortunately, slowed progress in some cases. We draw on diverse experiences with MSE to identify two areas in which the implementation of MSE in multinational fora may be improved: (i) the use of formally constituted “intermediary groups” as a forum for exchange at the management–science interface and (ii) the development of engaging, yet uncomplicated, visual communication tools for conveying key results to different audiences at each stage. While our focus is the MSE processes underway in the regional fisheries management organizations for tunas and tuna-like species, the advice provided is also pertinent for other fisheries, international and domestic alike, pursuing MSE.

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