An example contrasting TAC behaviour under target- and slope-based empirical management procedures

The current OMP for South African hake is, at basis, an empirical MP using a target-based approach, i.e. the TAC is adjusted up or down each year in relation to the extent to which the recent average of a composite index of abundance is above or below a target level (see MARAM/IWS/2017/BG9). That level is a control parameter of the MP which is tuned to provide the desired performance in terms of the trade-off between average catch and risk of undesired biomass reduction.