1 Indicator category

[Fill by hand, needs decision by Council]

2 Indicator name

Feeding guilds by management bodies

Includes variable(s): no Var field

3 Indicator brief description

Classification of species guild membership by management bodies.

4 Indicator visualization

Each management body (MAFMC, NEFSC, State etc) has its managed species associated with different feeding guilds. This data set shows which managed species for each management body are in which guilds. Guild MAFMC Joint NEFMC State or Other apex predator shark uncl, swordfish, yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna piscivore summer flounder, bluefish, northern shortfin squid, longfin squid spiny dogfish, goosefish winter skate, clearnose skate, thorny skate, offshore hake, silver hake, atlantic cod, pollock, white hake, red hake, atlantic halibut, acadian redfish sea lamprey, sandbar shark, atlantic angel shark, atlantic torpedo, conger eel, spotted hake, cusk, fourspot flounder, windowpane, john dory, atlantic cutlassfish, blue runner, striped bass, weakfish, sea raven, northern stargazer, banded rudderfish, atlantic sharpnose shark, inshore lizardfish, atlantic brief squid, northern sennet, king mackerel, spanish mackerel planktivore atlantic mackerel, chub mackerel, butterfish atlantic herring harvestfishes, smelts, round herring, alewife, blueback herring, american shad, menhaden, bay anchovy, striped anchovy, rainbow smelt, atlantic argentine, slender snipe eel, atlantic silverside, northern pipefish, atlantic moonfish, lookdown, blackbelly rosefish, lumpfish, northern sand lance, atlantic saury, mackerel scad, bigeye scad, round scad, rough scad, silver rag, weitzmans pearlsides, atlantic soft pout, sevenspine bay shrimp, pink glass shrimp, polar lebbeid, friendly blade shrimp, bristled longbeak, aesop shrimp, norwegian shrimp, northern shrimp, brown rock shrimp, atlantic thread herring, spanish sardine, atlantic bumper, harvestfish, striated argentine, silver anchovy benthivore black sea bass, scup, tilefish barndoor skate, rosette skate, little skate, smooth skate, haddock, american plaice, yellowtail flounder, winter flounder, witch flounder, atlantic wolffish, ocean pout, crab,red deepsea crab,unc, hagfish, porgy,red, sea bass,nk, atlantic hagfish, roughtail stingray, smooth dogfish, chain dogfish, bluntnose stingray, bullnose ray, southern stingray, longfin hake, fourbeard rockling, marlin-spike, gulf stream flounder, longspine snipefish, blackmouth bass, threespine stickleback, smallmouth flounder, hogchoker, bigeye, atlantic croaker, pigfish, northern kingfish, silver perch, spot, deepbody boarfish, sculpin uncl, moustache sculpin, longhorn sculpin, alligatorfish, grubby, atlantic seasnail, northern searobin, striped searobin, armored searobin, cunner, tautog, snakeblenny, daubed shanny, radiated shanny, red goatfish, striped cusk-eel, wolf eelpout, wrymouth, fawn cusk-eel, northern puffer, striped burrfish, planehead filefish, gray triggerfish, shortnose greeneye, beardfish, cownose ray, american lobster, cancer crab uncl, jonah crab, atlantic rock crab, blue crab, spider crab uncl, horseshoe crab, coarsehand lady crab, lady crab, northern stone crab, snow crab, spiny butterfly ray, smooth butterfly ray, snakefish, atlantic midshipman, bank cusk-eel, red cornetfish, squid cuttlefish and octopod uncl, spoonarm octopus, bank sea bass, rock sea bass, sand perch, cobia, crevalle jack, vermilion snapper, tomtate, jolthead porgy, saucereye porgy, whitebone porgy, knobbed porgy, sheepshead porgy, littlehead porgy, silver porgy, pinfish, red porgy, porgy and pinfish uncl, banded drum, southern kingfish, atlantic spadefish, leopard searobin, dusky flounder, triggerfish filefish uncl, blackcheek tonguefish, orange filefish, queen triggerfish, ocean triggerfish benthos atlantic surfclam, ocean quahog sea scallop sea cucumber, sea urchins, snails(conchs), sea urchin and sand dollar uncl, channeled whelk, blue mussel

## [1] "Same figure for both regions"

5 Indicator documentation

5.1 Are indicators available for others to use (data downloadable)?

## Yes

5.1.1 Where can indicators be found?

## Data: https://noaa-edab.github.io/ecodata/index.html 
## Description:  https://noaa-edab.github.io/catalog/species_groupings.html 
## Technical documentation:  https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/species_groupings.html

5.1.2 How often are they updated? Are future updates likely?

[need sequential look at datasets for update frequency. Future requires judgement]

5.1.3 Who is the contact?

5.2 Gather indicator statistics

5.2.1 Units

## no Units field

5.2.2 Length of time series, start and end date, periodicity

General overview: N/A

Indicator specifics:

Indicator

Varname

no Var field

no Time Variables

5.2.3 Spatial location, scale and extent

General overview: Coastwide

Indicator specifics:

Indicator

EPU

no Var field

no EPU field

5.2.4 Management scale: all species, FMP level, species level, can it be aggregated or separated to different scales?

[Classify by hand, note gridded data if available could be applied to different species ranges]

5.2.5 Uncertainty metrics

5.3 Are methods clearly documented to obtain source data and calculate indicators?

## Yes

5.3.1 Can the indicator be calculated from current documentation?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for current and previous methods]

5.3.2 Is code publicly available? up to date?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for current and previous methods]

5.3.3 Have methods changed over time?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for current and previous methods]

5.4 Are indicator underlying source data linked or easy to find?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgements]

5.4.1 Where are source data stored?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgement]

5.4.2 How/by whom are source data updated? Are future updates likely?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgement]

5.4.3 How often are they updated?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgement]

6 Indicator analysis/testing or history of use

6.1 What decision or advice processes are the indicators currently used in?

Feeding guilds are groups of species that feed similarly. At the ecosystem level, the food web is likely stable if overall biomass of feeding groups is stable over time, even if populations of species within the groups may be changing. We defined feeding guilds for fish and invertebrates captured by bottom trawl surveys using diet similarity, either from diet analysis or from literature [69,70], and see NEFSC food habits online

6.2 What implications of the indicators are currently listed?

We changed species groupings in response to comments over the years. The table shows feeding guilds used in the 2024-2025 reports. In 2025 an FMP column was added in response to Council requests.

6.3 Do target, limit, or threshold values already exist for the indicator?

[Fill by hand; if not in key results or implications, likely does not exist]

6.4 Have the indicators been tested to ensure they respond proportionally to a change in the underlying process?

[Fill by hand; if not in introduction, key results, or implications, likely not tested]

6.5 Are the indicators sensitive to a small change in the process, or what is the threshold of change that is detectable?

[Fill by hand; if not in introduction, key results, or implications, likely not tested]

6.6 Is there a time lag between the process change and the indicator change? How long?

[Fill by hand; if not in introduction, key results, or implications, likely not tested]

7 Comments

[Fill below by hand once above data complete]

7.2 What additional work would be needed for the Council to use the indicator?

7.3 What issues are caused if there is a gap or delay in data underlying the indicator