Report from the Working Group on Bycatch of Protected Species (WGBYC)

The Working Group on Bycatch of Protected Species (WGBYC) met at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute in Reykjavik, Iceland 1–4 May 2018. The meeting was chaired by Sara Königson (Sweden) and Kelly Macleod (UK) and was attended by 21 participants from twelve nations.

Seven Terms of Reference (ToRs; Annex 2) were addressed during the meeting through plenary and subgroups. The 2018 report is structured in the same order as the ToRs. Contributions to ToRs were requested in advance of the meeting and all data submissions were requested via a formal WGBYC/ICES data call (ICES, 2018). These requests were met to varying degrees. Late data submissions and submissions not in the right format caused delay in the progress of some ToRs (A and C primarily) at the meeting. However, the response to the formal data call was encouraging with 19 out of 24 contacted countries responding, though the quality of data submissions was variable.

Highlights from the 2018 meeting include review of ongoing bycatch mitigation research projects (ToR-B), bycatch risk assessments (BRAs) for harbour porpoise and common dolphin in the Celtic Seas and Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast Ecoregions (ToR C); review of the WKPETSAMP compiled inventory of the various sampling programmes that provide information on bycatch of protected species at the national level (ToR D); comparison of fishing effort from different sources (ICES Regional Database; WGBYC database; Logbooks) (ToR F); and a review and application of the fishPi method to inform relative risk of bycatch in different gears (ToR C; ToR G). The WG was also able to deliver responses to recommendations from the joint WGCATCH and WGBYC workshop PETSAMP (Tor G) held the week before WGBYC.