FUNDING OPPORTUNITY IN FISHERY STOCK ASSESSMENT REVIEWS
The Center for Independent Experts
(CIE) is seeking applicants has funds available for independent participation
in peer reviews of stock assessments carried out by the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS). The goal of this initiative is to strengthen NMFS'
Quality Assurance efforts under the current NOAA Strategic Plan by setting up a
pool of qualified scientists who can be called upon to review specific
assessments. Under this initiative, participating scientists will receive
honoraria for the time spent in their review activities.
Review activities will generally be
of two types: (1) reviews of extant assessments, and (2) reviews through active
participation in ongoing assessment working groups or stock assessment review
panels. Reviewers should generally be capable of conducting the types of
assessments that they might review.
Selected participants will
constitute a pool of experts from which individuals will be assigned to
different tasks. There will be a degree of flexibility in accepting task
assignments, particularly to avoid scheduling conflicts. For this reason,
scientists interested in the pilot program should provide a clear indication of
their time availability.
Please note that if you have previously applied during the last call in June 1998, kindly resubmit updated information.
HONORARIA
Fees will be commensurate with experience but not
typically exceed $600 per day, in addition to expenses, approved travel, and
other costs.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Applicants should
(A)
Have a Ph.D. or
equivalent degree in fishery science, renewable resource assessment, and
possess experience in applying methods to real stock/population assessments and
developing scientific advice for management,
OR
Have five or more years
of applied experience in one or more of the following: Fishery stock assessment model development,
fishery stock assessment applications, population dynamics of marine mammals and
sea turtles, development of scientific advice for resource management and be a
nationally or internationally recognized expert in the appropriate disciplines,
AND
(B)
Have 10 or more
peer-reviewed publications in the areas outlined above or have substantially
contributed to work conducted by fishery management agencies in the subject
area,
OR
Have record of past
participation in stock assessments (e.g. working groups) and/or stock
assessment reviews, nationally or internationally.
RESTRICTIONS
It is of utmost concern that the scientific input provided by the reviewers be unbiased. This means that the selected individuals will provide their expert advice free from the influence of government managers, the fishing industry, or any other interest group. For this reason, applicants must lack any potential for conflict of interest with the tasks associated with the review process. The three main likely reasons for conflict of interest are (a) having received in the recent past (1-2 years) substantial funds from industry or environmental groups with vested interests in resources for which NMFS has stewardship responsibilities, (b) having received in the recent past substantial funds from NMFS via "sole-source contracts", and (c) having a history of an advocacy role for a specific viewpoint. Participants will be asked to sign an affidavit stating that they do not possess any such attributes that may bias the review. Additionally, participants will be asked to sign an agreement to (1) not obtain any funding from, or carry any unpaid work for, environmental or industry-related sources with U.S. marine fisheries interests during the time in which they will be contracted by the program, and (2) not obtain any funding from environmental or industry-related sources with fisheries interests in the stocks actually reviewed for one year after the review ends, without prior consent from NMFS.
Please refer to the conflict of interest letter linked below for more details on restrictions.
Interested scientists should send the following
information:
(1) A letter stating
their interest to participate and highlighting their assessment expertise,
(2) a curriculum vitae,
(3) an indication of
general availability of time for the 14 months starting on the application
deadline (for example 4 days in January, 3 days in February, and so on), and
(4) the minimum number of
days of consulting under this program (during one year) that would be required
in order to forego other sources of funding that could be viewed as a conflict
of interest (see RESTRICTIONS, above).
Applications can be sent via mail or email and must
be received by July 31,2000. Selection
of participants in the project shall be decided within one month from this
deadline.
David Die
CIE/RSMAS/UM
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, Florida 33149
305-361-4607
Email: ddie@rsmas.miami.edu
OR
Manoj Shivlani
Senior Research Associate
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, Florida 33149
305-361-4608/FAX: 305-361-4457
Email: mshivlani@rsmas.miami.edu