500 1000 1500 2000 2500 
Fishery Bulletin 118(4) 
HR15 250) 
200 | 
150 | 
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 1000 1500 2000 2500 
Figure 10 
Distributions of (A-E) mature male abundance (MMA), (F-I) retained catch, and (J—M) catch per unit of effort (CPUE), all 
given in frequency counts, of golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus) in the Aleutian Islands under harvest control rules (HCRs) 
HRO, HR10, HR15, HR15U, and HR30. Distributions are from 1000 simulations for scenario 1 of the operating model in which a 
linear relationship between CPUE and selected abundance is assumed. The stock is projected from an initial level of abundance, 
measured in mature male biomass (MMB): a healthy state (i.e., MMB.o;</MMB,,=1.55, where MMB.o;, is MMB in 2018 and 
MMB,,; is 35% of the unfished level of MMB). The vertical thick dashed lines in the top row of panels indicate average mature 
male abundance (MMA,,,.), and the vertical thin dashed lines indicate 0.25MMA,,,. Data used in the model are for golden king 
crab in 1981-2018. For details about the HCRs, see Table 1. 
understanding the sensitivity of the performance of can- 
didate HCRs to changes in recruitment parameters will 
assist managers in decision-making. 
We feel that the approach of using a simplified MSE 
presented here is a fair balance between a robust analy- 
sis with reduced computational demands and a full MSE 
that can be applied to any stock that is hard to age and 
for which there are several candidate HCRs. Although 
we highlight the importance of recruitment variability, 
managers of other stocks should consider their man- 
agement goals, dynamics of the stock that they manage, 
uncertainties, and candidate catch policies. The ability 
to objectively evaluate conservation and economic trade- 
offs leads to a level of transparency between managers 
and fishermen that allows productive dialogue regarding 
emerging HCRs. 
Acknowledgments 
We thank members of the Crab Plan Team of the North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council for technical 
