Update of the simple variants of the SA hake Reference Case Operating Model to take account of Namibian M. paradoxus catches and survey data

An update is provided of Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2020a and b), where variants of the SA hake Reference Case Operating Model (RC OM) which include the Namibian survey data and also take account of Namibian catches in a manner that corresponds to the extreme scenario of demographic panmixia of M. paradoxus between the SA and Namibian regions, are evaluated. These updates follow the provision of assessment data by Namibian scientists. The key result of Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2020a and b) remains unchanged, namely that allowing for the possibility that there is sharing of the M. paradoxus resource between South Africa and Namibia results in an estimated status (current to pristine spawning biomass ratio) for that species which is (often considerably) better than indicated by the assessment of SA hake in isolation (in the RC OM).