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This Working Document summarises the results of applications of the Annual Egg Production Method (Armstrong et al. 2001, Armstrong and Witthames 2012) to estimate spawning stock biomass of cod and plaice in the Irish Sea in 1995, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and haddock in 2006, 2008 and 2010. This work is conducted jointly between Cefas and AFBI (Belfast). The Marine Institute (Galway) assisted with fecundity estimates in surveys up to 2008.

Using data from mark recovery and electronic tag studies, we investigate the exchange of cod between three adjacent cod management areas; the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa), Scottish waters (ICES Division IVa) and in the western English Channel and Celtic Sea (ICES Divisions VIIe-k). We evaluate 2209 archived and current mark recovery data (1960’s – to 2010) to assess the seasonal changes in distribution of cod within ICES Divisions VIa, VIIa and VIIe-g. In addition, we report on the results of a collaborative electronic data storage tagging (DST) programme of cod in the Irish and Celtic Sea, spanning the years 1999 to 2010. During this time, 710 DSTs have been deployed on cod between 43cm and 110cm, and 107 of the tags have been returned yielding over 11000 days of data. We use a tidal geolocation model to determine the daily locations of each cod to reconstruct in detail the migrations of cod tagged with DSTs. The results describe fundamental features of cod spatial ecology in the Irish and Celtic Sea, such as the seasonality of migration and habitat occupation and the potential impact upon sub-stock structure.

This Working Document is derived from a draft Fisheries Science Partnership report currently in preparation, for use by the ICES Working Group on the Celtic Seas Ecoregion. The results are not to be cited without permission from the primary author. The final report will eventually be published on the Cefas web site. The Irish Sea roundfish survey was developed in 2003 as a fully collaborative project between the fishing industry and Cefas scientists. It forms part of the UK Fisheries Science Partnership funded by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The scope of the FSP programme, and reports for all completed projects, are available on the FSP page of the Cefas web site. The main objective of the Irish Sea roundfish survey is to develop a time-series of data to track year-on-year changes in abundance, population structure and distribution of the target species (cod, haddock and whiting). The results of the surveys provide information supporting the scientific assessment of the stocks and the management of the fisheries in the Irish Sea. Results of the surveys have been provided annually to WGCSE, and this WD is the same as provided to WGCSE 2011 and has not been updated to include the stock trends from the WGCSE 2011 assessments.

Object-Based Media (OBM) offers opportunities to build new forms of media which provide personalisation and choice for the audience. This new form of media is disruptive to the craft skills of storytelling and new forms of native OBM storytelling have yet to be developed.This presentation will examine the issue of the changed role of the audience (and thus the storyteller) caused by the introduction of audience interaction and agency. Comparing the story structures used in linear media to those used in computer games the presentation will demonstrate the failings of branching narrative and show how, by framing an active for the audience, new media forms could be designed with significant advantages over fixed, linear content.

This document aims to identify the main technical and end-user requirements for the reception, presentation and personalised consumption of broadcast object-based content. Its purpose is to serve as guidelines for the design, implementation and assessment of technical solutions that will be developed during the project. Usability specifications are exemplified through various mock-ups and user scenarios. Several hardware and software solutions are considered for the end-user device in order to cover different audio content consumption situations (e.g. domestic use vs mobility). Personalisation and interactivity features are also listed and will require the design and development of user interfaces handling various input devices (e.g. touch screen, GPS sensors, microphone…).

fishPi was a research project with the aim of “Strengthening regional cooperation in the area of fisheries data collection”. The project brought together over 40 experts from 13 scientific institutes in 12 countries (10 member states (MS)) and two internationally recognised survey design experts. It was funded by EU MARE grant MARE/2014/19, with a 14 month timeline commencing in April 2015. This project has trialled the way sampling designs would be developed in a regional setting and showed that collaboration and consultation is required at face to face meetings through regional groups that focus on a particular group of fisheries. The project was the first step in this process and one of the main outcomes is the framework to take the process forward; developing data formats, data sharing agreements and easily accessible software for data sharing, checking and analysis, and for the simulation testing of sampling designs., European Union

The Working Group on Commercial Catches (WGCATCH), chaired by Hans Gerritsen (Ireland) and Nuno Prista (Sweden), met in Lisbon, Portugal, 9–13 November 2015. WGCATCH is responsible for documenting national fishery sampling schemes, establishing best practice and guidelines on sampling and estimation procedures, and providing advice on other uses of fishery data. The meeting was attended by 30 participants from 15 countries. The group addressed a large number of terms of reference and the meeting was con-ducted through presentations, discussions and analysis of questionnaires. The main terms of reference were addressed in subgroups. The report is structured directly along the terms of reference and the main outcomes are listed below. Data collection schemes for small-scale fisheries WGCATCH provided descriptions of national small-scale fisheries through question-naires. An overview was obtained on the current data collection methods. Two major approaches were identified - census (e.g., sales, logbooks) and sampling methods (e.g., catch surveys) - and their main pros and cons were discussed. In most cases, specific sampling approaches are needed for these fisheries. The group developed a work plan to establish good-practice guidelines. Analysis of case studies of commercial fishery sampling designs and estimation Case studies of sampling designs and estimation involving megrim in divisions 7-8 were presented. A common theme is that issues with practical implementation of prob-ability-based sampling remain. WGCATCH summarized the main issues and provided a set of possible solutions. The group also provided guidance on dealing with previous data collected under métier-based sampling designs. Simulation models to investigate survey designs Several simulation studies were presented, most of them outlining the work of fishPi project (funded under MARE/2014/19) in evaluating regional sampling designs. A crit-ical review was carried out and WGCATCH produced general considerations and guidelines. WGCATCH recommends that these are taken into account when analysing the results of simulations of regional sampling design at RCM level. The affect of the landing obligation on catch sampling opportunities The affects on sampling and data quality of the current implementation of the landing obligation in the Baltic were reviewed. The group found that refusal rates for observer trips have increased to nearly 100% in at least one country, while in many other coun-tries on-board observer programmes did not suffer noticeable changes. WGCATCH established that the catches below the minimum size cannot be accurately estimated by sampling the landings below the minimum size because an unknown proportion of the catches may be discarded. The group also reiterated that it is important that the logbooks distinguish landings below and above the minimum size. Publication on statistically sound sampling schemes WGCATCH drafted detailed plans to produce a peer-reviewed paper in 2016. The pa-per will provide a synthesis of the evolution of sampling design towards best practice, illustrated with a number of concise case studies. Estimation procedures in the Regional Database (RDB) The work of WKRDB 2015 presented alongside existing and planned estimation pro-cedures in the RDB. Current work by Norway on a software package that will allow design-based estimation and optimization for stock assessment purposes was also pre-sented. The advantages of ensuring compatibility of this new software with the devel-opments currently planned for RDB-FishFrame are underscored. Repository of resources relevant to catch sampling WGCATCH initiated a repository with key resources; putting them into context with brief descriptions or review of each report, paper, book, website, software package etc. The intention is for this repository to be made available online by ICES. Sampling of incidental bycatches WGCATCH agreed to start routine documentation of sampling practices for bycatches of protected, endangered and threatened species (PETS) and rare fish species as well as routine evaluation of the limitations of current methods for collection and analysis. Training course on Design and Analysis of Statistical Sound catch sampling pro-grammes WGCATCH considered continuous training and expertise on sampling design, estima-tion and simulation to be the basis for successful implementation of statistical sound catch sampling programs. A new ICES Training Course in Design and Analysis of Sta-tistical Sound will take place at ICES HQ in Copenhagen, 12–16 September 2016. WGCATCH recommends that RCMs promote the attendance of these meetings among all MS involved.

The Working Group on Commercial Catches (WGCATCH), chaired by Mike Arm- strong (UK) and Hans Gerritsen (Ireland), met in ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark, 10–14 November 2014. The meeting was attended by 34 experts from 21 laboratories or organizations, covering 16 countries. Currently, an important task for WGCATCH is to improve and review sampling sur- vey designs for commercial fisheries, particularly those for estimating quantities and size or age compositions of landings and discards and providing data quality indica- tors. However, the scope of WGCATCH is broader than this, covering many other aspects of collection and analysis of data on fishing activities and catches. This will be end-user driven, and coordinated with the work of other ICES data EGs such as the Working Group on Biological Parameters (WGBIOP), the Planning Group on Data Needs for Assessments and Advice (PGDATA) and the Working Group on Recrea- tional Fisheries Surveys (WGRFS) to ensure synergy and efficiency. The report of the meeting commences with background information on the formation of WGCATCH and its overall role. The remainder of the report provides the out- comes for each of the Terms of Reference (ToRs) and responses to external requests, the proposed future work plan and the ToRs for the 2015 meeting. The group formed two large subgroups to deal with the two major terms of reference which are the development of guidelines for carrying out sampling of catches on shore and the provision of advice on adapting sampling programmes to deal with the landing obligation. In order to evaluate methods and develop guidelines for best practice in carrying out sampling of commercial sampling of commercial fish catches onshore, a question- naire was circulated before the meeting. This questionnaire was structured around guidelines developed by the ICES Workshop on Practical Implementation of Statisti- cally Sound Catch Sampling Programmes (WKPICS) for best practice at each stage of the sampling process, and asked for a description of current practices at each of these stages. Based on these questionnaires, common and specific problems were cata- logued and potential solutions were identified. At the same time, the discussion of the questionnaires provided a form of peer-review of the sampling designs and iden- tified where improvements could be made. WGCATCH provided guidelines for de- signing a sampling survey and summarized earlier guidelines provided by the 2010 Workshop on methods for merging métiers for fishery based sampling (WKMERGE) The other main subject addressed by WGCATCH concerns the provision of advice on adapting sampling protocols to deal with the impact of the introduction of the land- ing obligation, which will alter discarding practices and result in additional catego- ries of catch being landed. A second questionnaire was circulated before the meeting to allow the group to identify the fleets that will be affected and possible issues that are anticipated, as well as to propose solutions to adapt existing monitoring and sampling schemes and to quantify bias resulting from the introduction of this regula- tion. WGCATCH outlined a range of likely scenarios and the expected effects of these on fishery sampling programmes, and developed guidelines for adapting sam- pling schemes. The group also explored a range of analyses that could be conducted in order to quantify bias resulting from the introduction of the landing obligation. Finally a number of pilot studies/case studies were summarized, highlighting the practical issues involved