CARE Charter with index |
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The membership of CARE has seen little turnover in its history. These long term members provide a stabilizing force for continuing CARE responsibilities within their original intent. In the event of member turnover or simply in the interest of promoting long term consistency, this charter initiated in 2000, provides a framework within which the original intent of CARE may continue. This charter also expedites familiarization of new CARE Members to the responsibilities and function of CARE. (Full Charter in PDF) OVERVIEW CHARTER OF THE COMMITTEE OF AGE READING EXPERTSA WORKING GROUP OF THE TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTE TO THE CANADA-US GROUNDFISH COMMITTEE OVERVIEWThe Committee of Age Reading Experts (CARE) was initiated after a series of meetings in 1982 by the Technical Subcommittee (TSC) of the Canada-US Groundfish Committee. The first two workshops were convened in 1983 (April 27-29 and August 3-5) to document and standardize current methods used to age groundfish. These workshops discussed use of appropriate age structures, preparation of samples, equipment required, and reading procedures. Additional issues discussed were development of procedures for interagency calibration and methodology for age validation work. The primary objectives of these meetings were to reduce variation in age reading between agencies and to produce a manual of standard techniques. Target species for these initial meetings were rockfish of “regional management concern”. From 1986 through 2002, CARE meetings were held every two years and included participation by agencies (state and federal) and institutions involved in age determination work. Participants were from agencies in the USA (California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska) and Canada (British Columbia). Focal topics are provided by the TSC and member agencies. Throughout the history of CARE, the primary issue of concern continues to be interagency calibration and the validation and standardization of age reading criteria. The membership of CARE has seen little turnover in its history. These long term members provide a stabilizing force for continuing CARE responsibilities within their original intent. In the event of member turnover or simply in the interest of promoting long term consistency, this charter, initiated in 2000, provides a framework within which the original intent of CARE may continue. This charter also expedites familiarization of new CARE Members to the responsibilities and function of CARE. ADMINISTRATION OF CARESelection of OfficersThree positions will administer to CARE responsibilities. Officers will be volunteer CARE Members, or CARE Participants as approved by CARE Members. Positions will begin July 1 of the rotation year, and will last for two years. No person shall hold responsibilities of one position for more than 1 term. These terms shall rotate among agencies. Rotation will be from Vice-chair to chair for subsequent workshops, with no one agency supporting both Vice-chair and Chair positions. The position of secretary rotates among agencies every two years. One agency may support both the Secretary and either the Vice-chair or Chair. If an individual vacates their role prior to completion of their term, it is recommended that a replacement be identified according to the following: the departing person should submit the name of an individual within their agency to the CARE chair (or vice chair if the chair is vacating) and/or the CARE chair should submit a request to the Age Lab supervisor of the agency of the departing individual to submit a name of someone within their agency. Upon submission of a name the CARE chair will apprise the Membership and request confirmation or objection. If these events do not result in a candidate the CARE chair will request a volunteer from the Membership and will then request of the Membership confirmation of or objection to the candidate. Responsibilities of OfficersChair:
Vice-chair:
Secretary:
Subcommittees (Working Groups)Working groups serve a valuable purpose by focusing on specific issues of concern to CARE and the TSC. Committee members are CARE Members or CARE participants as approved by CARE Members and should be volunteers of appropriate experience and interest. Committee members should serve for the life of the working committee or a maximum of 2 terms or longer, as approved by the CARE membership. The identified working committee selects a chair to lead the group and direct the process. The subcommittee chair should:
CARE MEMBERSHIPCARE Member
CARE Participant
Member Responsibilities
· A member agency that drafts written materials which characterize the methodologies and/or protocols of other agencies with intent for distribution and/or publication are encouraged to allow the agencies involved to review and comment on the final draft prior to distribution. CARE MEETINGS & WORKSHOPSDuration of MeetingThe purpose of the meeting will define the duration, though a minimum of 3 days is strongly encouraged for accomplishing CARE business and workshop exercises. Structure of MeetingMeetings will follow the agenda set by the Officers and membership. The format should remain relatively informal to promote discussion, exchange of information and calibration of age-reading criteria. Chronicle of MeetingMeeting minutes will be recorded in writing. A draft will be available for review by all Members one month after the meeting. Following review by all Members, this draft will have tentative standing for distribution to the TSC by the CARE Chair. This draft will be “accepted” or “rejected” via email, by those in attendance at the meeting. Meeting minutes will be posted to the CARE website only after they have been approved. AGE STRUCTURE EXCHANGE PROTOCOLPrimary Structure Exchanges/Species Primary exchanges between agencies are initiated by the TSC or fishery managers for those species of heightened interest. These exchanges are required and must be conducted well in advance of the next CARE workshop. Exchange age data are documented in the CASE invoice (see CASE Invoice Protocol). Results must be submitted to the Vice-chair for collation into the “Age Structure Exchange Table”. Secondary Structure Exchanges/Species Secondary exchanges are initiated by CARE Members for those species of interest and while of interest to the TSC are not mandated for exchange. Results may be submitted for inclusion in the “Age Structure Exchange Table”. Primary Exchange Protocols:
The CASE, “CARE Age Structure Exchange”, invoice and protocol was initiated to facilitate retention of age structure exchange data. CASE invoices will be archived on the CARE website and available to all users.
PRODUCT FORMATMeeting Minutes
CARE Meeting minutes should be prepared and submitted according to the following (see example in Appendix A):
Annual Report to the TSCThe CARE annual report (see example in Appendix B) to the TSC is submitted at the annual meeting of the TSC. The Chair should solicit status reports (paragraph) from subcommittee chairs or other points of interest raised by CARE and at the discretion of the Chair. Age Structure ExchangeThe Age Structure Exchange results will be submitted to the Vice-chair using the CASE invoice (see example in Appendix C) protocol. The type and formulation of reported statistics should be calculated according to current convention. Inclusion of precision test results is optional. Precision Test Statistics and Formulation Precision testing is routinely conducted to measure the “readability” of a sample. Several statistics are routinely calculated to describe this precision. Some of the most commonly used statistics (noted below), and their mathematical formulation are presented in Appendix D.
Computer Software Standards To expedite exchange of documents or spreadsheets the following software standards were approved to be standard, circa 2000. Updates to these standards will be frequently made to reflect evolution of software.
CHARTER EDIT LOGThe CARE Charter was developed in 2000 with a final draft approved at the 2004 CARE Workshop. This Edit Log tracks future amendments to the Charter. 2009 Charter updates: 1. Added this “Charter Edit Log”.
8. APPENDIX D - Precision Test Statistics and Formulation (In progress)
APPENDIX A – CARE Meeting Minutes Format(PDF)APPENDIX B – CARE Annual Report to the TSC(PDF)APPENDIX C – CASE Invoice for sample exchanges(PDF) |