ICES Survey Protocols – Manual for acoustic surveys coordinated under ICES Working Group on Acoustic and Egg Surveys for Small Pelagic Fish (WGACEGG)

This manual has been developed under the auspices of the ICES Working Group on Acoustic and Egg Surveys for small pelagic fish in the Northeast Atlantic (WGACEGG) to document the methodologies used to collect and analyse acoustic data during WGACEGG coordinated surveys.
The group coordinates ten individual acoustic surveys conducted in the Northeast Atlantic shelf waters (ICES Areas 6, 7, 8 and 9) by five countries (Portugal, Spain, France, UK, and Ireland). These surveys account for about 240 at-sea days per year on average. The group coordinates joint surveys covering shelf waters from southern Portugal to Ireland in spring and autumn, and an individual survey in the Gulf of Cadiz in summer. The spring and autumn joint surveys are a combination of five acoustic surveys. The main characteristics of each survey, including target species for which survey indices are directly input into fish stock assessments, are summarized.