EU request on sole (Solea solea) in Division IIIa (Skagerak-Kattegatt) and Subdivisions 22–24 (Southwestern Baltic Sea) - SELTRA trawl

ICES advises that it is not able to quantify or provide an expert judgement on the likely reduction in cpue of sole in Division IIIaand Subdivisions 22–24 caused by the shift from 90 mm codend trawls to SELTRA trawls. This is due to the fact that no data on the difference in catchability of sole in the two trawl types are available, and therefore there is no quantitative information to quantify the assumed reduction. Moreover, there is no other literature or anectodal information on which to provide an expert judgement  on  the  magnitude  of  such  reduction.  Therefore,  ICES  is  unable  to  re-assess  the  stock  of  sole  in  Division  IIIa  and  Subdivisions 22–24 based on a reduction in  catchability in the SELTRA trawls.