Report of the Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf stocks of Hake, Monk and Megrim (WGHMM). 5 - 11 May 2011, ICES Headquarters, Copenhagen

The ICES Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf Stocks of Hake, Monk and Megrim (WGHMM) met in ICES Headquarters during May 5-11 2011. There are 19 stocks in its remit, distributed from ICES Division IIIa to IXa: 2 stocks of hake (Hake in Division IIIa, Subareas IV, VI and VII and Divisions VIIIa,b,d and Hake in Divisions VIIIc and IXa), 4 of anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and L. budegassa in Divisions VIIb-k and VIIIa,b,d and L. piscatorius and L. budegassa in Divisions VIIIc and IXa), 3 of megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis in Divisions VIIb-k and VIIIa,b,d and Lepidorhombus boscii and L. Whiffiagonis in Divisions VIIIc and IXa), 1 of sole (Sole in Divisions VIIIa,b - Bay of Biscay), 2 functional units of Nephrops in Divisions VIIIa,b, 2 in Division VIIIc and 5 in Division IXa. There were 18 participants (of which 1 participated part-time and 1 by correspondence) from 5 countries (France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and UK). The meeting was chaired by Carmen Fernández (Spain). The meeting was tasked with carrying out stock assessments and providing catch forecasts and a first draft of ICES advice for 2012 for all stocks excepting the Nephrops FUs. For Nephrops, catch and abundance indices information was updated. Analytical assessments using age-structured models were conducted for the southern stocks of megrim and the Bay of Biscay sole, whereas the two hake stocks were assessed using models that allow the use of only length-structured data (no age data). A surplusproduction model, without age or length structure, was used to assess the southern stocks of anglerfish. No analytical assessments have been provided for the northern stocks of anglerfish or megrim after 2006. For anglerfish this is mostly due to ageing problems and to an increase in discards in recent years, for which there is no reliable data at the stock level. For megrim, there have been severe deficiencies in the input data, of which several still remain. The state of stocks for which no analytical assessment could be performed was inferred from examination of commercial LPUE or CPUE data and from survey information. This year, the northern megrim and anglerfish stocks were scheduled for the “Same Advice as Last Year”. All 4 anglerfish stocks and the northern megrim stock are scheduled for benchmark assessments at the start of 2012, whereas Nephrops FUs 23-24 and Nephrops FUs 28-29 are scheduled for Inter-benchmark protocols at the same time. The WGHMM meeting also spent considerable time planning these benchmarks. Section 1 of the report presents a summary by stock and discusses general issues. Section 2 provides descriptions of relevant fishing fleets and surveys, whereas Sections 3 to 12 contain the single stock assessments. Section 13 groups references. Several annexes follow. Titles and abstracts of Working Documents presented to the meeting are in Annex B. Planning of preparatory work for future benchmarks is presented in Annex N. WGHMM recommendations are in Annex O and main data problems requiring action in Annex P. Additionally, the WG ToRs this year included collating data for 4 new species in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian waters (see Annex R) and generic ToRs concerning the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (Annex S). Annex T presents and discusses InterCatch use.
How to cite
ICES (2011). Report of the Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf stocks of Hake, Monk and Megrim (WGHMM). 5 - 11 May 2011, ICES Headquarters, Copenhagen. CIEM / ICES. Ref. ICES CM 2011/ACOM:11. 636p. https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00190/30110/

Copy this text