The Working Group on the Effects of Extraction of Marine Sediments on the Marine Eco-system (WGEXT) met in Copenhagen, Denmark, 16–19 April 2018. Twelve participants from ten ICES member countries attended the meeting. Contributions were provided by correspondence from three countries whose representative were not able to attend.

The objective of WGEXT is to provide a summary of data on marine sediment extraction (ToR A1), marine resource and habitat mapping, changes to the legal regime, and re-search projects relevant to the assessment of environmental effects (ToR A2). The data on marine sediment extraction will be reported annually.

Data reports (ToR A1) were discussed from 14 (out of 20) member countries. Although not all the member countries provided reports, the available data is thought to provide a representative assessment of the overall total of material extracted from the ICES area. The status of the other ToRs (A2 and B to L) were reviewed.