"This strategic plan for the West Coast Region (WCR) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) identifies our priorities for the next five years (2016 to 2020). This plan will guide internal decisionmaking and resource allocation. We expect demand for our services to remain high. In developing this plan we have assumed funding will remain level. This plan includes goals, objectives, and strategies designed to support NOAA Fisheries' core mandates, as well as the primary goals and mandates of the Department of Commerce (DOC) and NOAA, which are highlighted in Table 1 and further described in Appendix 1. In supporting these goals and mandates, and in carrying out our plan, we will use the best available science and strive for organizational excellence through service, responsiveness, fiscal integrity, strong partnerships, innovative solutions, and internal alignment. Annually, we will refer to this plan to reflect on our progress and identify specific actions we will take to accomplish our goals and objectives. This plan is organized to familiarize the reader with the role of the WCR in carrying out NOAA Fisheries' mandates, as well as how we are organized to carry out these duties, before introducing our specific goals, objectives, and strategies. We also describe many of our key partners and stakeholders early in this plan because the majority of our work involves collaborations internally and externally. By introducing this information early in the plan, the reader may better understand which divisions and offices within the WCR will be involved in working towards our various goals, objectives, and strategies"--Introduction.