The SFM was used only to simulate selective coho salmon fisheries. However, the SFM can also be used to evaluate the effects of selective fisheries on chinook salmon.
The SFM can incorporate any number of stocks. The current version contains 11 stocks -6 hatchery and 5 wild.
The model has 52 time periods per year. A weekly time step is necessary for three reasons. First, a small time step is needed to simulate the effect of different minimum size limits. Since coho grow rapidly, an accurate estimate of the effect of a size limit requires a relatively fine time scale. Second, the model is formulated as a series of independent, discrete processes. A small time scale is necessary in order to reduce the error introduced by the lack of interaction among the processes. Finally, the algorithms used to model the selective fisheries assume that fish released are not susceptible to recapture within the time step. A small time step is required for this to be an acceptable assumption.
The SFM contains five fishing areas and three gear types (troll, sport, and net).