Search

The ICES Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS) met 19-26 April 2017(Chair: Tomas Gröhsler, Germany and Co-chair: Michele Casini, Sweden), with 41 participants and 9 countries represented. The objective of WGBFAS was to assess the status of the following stocks: Sole in Division 3.a, SDs 20–24; Cod in Kattegat, Cod in SDs 22–24, Cod in SDs 25–32; Herring in SDs 25–27, 28.2, 29 and 32, Herring in SD 28.1 (Gulf of Riga), Herring in SDs 30-31 (Gulf of Bothnia); Sprat in SDs 22–32; Plaice in SDs 21–23, Plaice in SDs 24–25; Flounder in SDs 22–23, in SDs 24–25, in SDs 26+28 and SDs 27+29–32; Brill in SDs 22–32, Dab in SDs 22–32 and Turbot in SDs 22–32. WGBFAS also identified the data needed for next year’s data call with some suggestions for improvements in the data call, and stock-specific research needs.The report contains an introduction with the summary of other WGs relevant for the WGBFAS, the methods used, and ecosystem considerations. The results of the analytical stock assessment or survey trends for the species listed above are then presented with all the stocks with the same species in the same sections. The report ends with references, recommendations, links to Stock Annexes and list of Working Documents.The principle analytical models used for the stock assessments were XSA and SAM. For most flatfishes and cod in SDs 25–32 (data limited stocks), CPUE trends from bottomtrawl surveys were used in the assessment (except plaice in SDs 24–25 for which relative SSB from SAM was used). For the data limited stocks, reference points based on length-based indicators were estimated (except cod in SDs 25-32 for which relative reference points were estimated using the SPiCT model). For cod in SDs 25–32, intersessional work was planned to hopefully allow returning to an analytical stock assessment in the near future. Ecosystem changes have been analytically considered in the following stock assessments: Herring in SD 25–27, 28.2, 29 and 32, and Sprat in SD 22–32

The ICES Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS) met 14-21 April 2015 (Chair: Mare Storr-Paulsen, Denmark), with 28 participants and 9 countries represented. The objective of WGBFAS was to assess the status of the following stocks: 1 ) Sole in Division IIIa, SDs 20-22 2 ) Cod in Kattegat, Cod in SD 22-24, Cod in SD 25-32 3 ) Herring in SD 25-27, 28.2, 29 and 32, Herring in SD 28.1 (Gulf of Riga), Herring in SD 30, Herring SD 31. 4 ) Sprat in SD 22-32 5 ) Plaice 21-23, Plaice 2425 6 ) Flounder 22-23; 24-25; 26+28 and 27+29-32, Brill 2232, Dab 2232, and Turbot 2232 (survey trends) WGBFAS also identified the data needed, for next year’s data call with some suggestions for improvements in the data call as well as in InterCatch. The report contains an introduction with the summary of other WGs relevant for the WGBFAS, country specific fishery description, the methods used, and ecosystem considerations. The results of the analytical stock assessment or survey trends for the species listed above are then presented with all the stocks with the same species in the same sections. The report ends with references, list of Working Documents, recommendations and Stock Annexes. In first quarter 2015 the Baltic cod stocks and the plaice stocks were benchmarked. As a result the Baltic cod stocks now have to apply a splitting key in SD 24 were both stocks are present. This has changed the assessment from being an area based assessment to now being a stock based assessments and has implications for the advice. The principle analytical models used for the stock assessments were XSA and SAM. For most flatfishes, CPUE trends from bottom trawl surveys were presented (except plaice 2425 and her31 using relative SSB from SAM and XSA, respectively). Ecosystem changes have been analytically considered in the following stock assessments: Herring in SD 25-27, 28.2, 29 and 32, and Sprat in SD 22-32, in form of cod predation mortality. Last year a very large retrospective pattern in th

The ICES Benchmark Workshop on Baltic Cod Stocks (WKBALTCOD), chaired by External Chair Jean-Jacques Maguire, Canada and ICES Chair Marie Storr-Paulsen, Denmark, and attended by two invited external experts Verena Trenkel, France and Meaghan Bryan, USA met in Rostock, Germany, 2–6 March 2015 with 39 participants and six countries represented. The objective of WKBALTCOD was to evaluate the appropriateness of data and methods to determine stock status and investigate meth-ods appropriate to use in the single-stock assessment for the cod stock in SD 22–24 and cod in SD 25–32 in the Baltic. Participants in the workshop were a large group with diverse backgrounds representing the industry, fisheries, NGOs, managers and scientists.The single-stock analytic assessment of the eastern Baltic stock was not accepted by the assessment working group (WGBFAS) in 2014 due to severe problems with the input data. The advice for the eastern Baltic cod was, therefore, based on the ICES approach for data-limited stocks. As an outcome ICES decided to establish a bench-mark for both cod stocks and to scope an integrated assessment for the Baltic cod stocks. The first meeting (WKSIBCA) was therefore meant to introduce the interces-sional work conducted since the assessment working group in April 2014, and to reach some conclusions on how to proceed both in the short term (Benchmark in March 2015) and longer term (2–3 years) and was seen as a data compilation work-shop, there is produced a separate report from this workshop. The WKBALTCOD was the 2nd meeting in the benchmark process and was intended to come up with a final stock assessment method, stock annex and input data for both stocks. As it was not possible to reach conclusive decision on the final model to be used for the east Baltic cod stock during the benchmark meeting and as more work on the preferable models was needed, it was decided by the ACOM leadership to prolong the bench-mark process until the assessment working group me

The ICES/HELCOM Working Group on Integrated Assessments of the Baltic Sea(WGIAB) was established in 2007 as a forum for developing and combining ecosystembasedmanagement efforts for the Baltic Sea. The group intends to serve as a scientificcounterpart and support for the ICES Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group(WGBFAS) as well as for efforts and projects related to Integrated Ecosystem Assessments(IEA) within ICES and HELCOM. The group works in cooperation with similargroups within the ACOM/SCICOM Steering Group on Integrated Ecosystem Assessments(SSGIEA).The 2015 WGIAB meeting was held in Cádiz, Spain, from 9–13 March, back-to-backwith the meeting of its counterpart in the Working Group on Ecosystem Assessmentof Western European Shelf Seas (WGEAWESS). The meetings had joint sessions as wellas WG specific work, and some participants effectively participated in both meetings.The WGIAB meeting was attended by 27 participants from nine countries. The meetingwas chaired by Christian Möllmann, Germany, Laura Uusitalo, Finland and Lena Bergström,Sweden.This was the last year of the ongoing three-year Terms of Reference (ToR) for WGIAB.The main working activities in 2015 were to i) conduct studies on Baltic Sea ecosystemfunctioning with the goal to publish case studies from different parts of the Baltic Seain peer-reviewed journals, ii) work on the demonstration exercise to develop ecosystem-based assessment and advice for Baltic fish stocks focusing on cod (DEMO) withmultiple approaches, iii) plan further how to integrate the social and economic aspectsmore tightly in the WGIAB work, and iv) discuss the future focus and format of theWGIAB work.The Baltic ecosystem functioning activity focused on identifying and exploring keytrends and linkages in the Baltic Sea foodweb. This was pursued by presentation andfurther discussion of ongoing intersessional work on foodweb modelling and integratedanalyses, and by exercises to develop conceptual models Baltic Sea foodwebsand