First Interim Report of the International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group (IBTSWG)

The report presents summaries of the national contributions in 2015–2016 and plan-ning for 2016–2017 for the surveys coordinated by the International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group (IBTSWG). In the North Sea, the International Bottom Trawl Surveys are performed in quarters 1 and 3; in the northeastern Atlantic they are con-ducted in quarters 1, 3, and 4 with a suite of 13 surveys covering shelf areas from north of Scotland to the Gulf of Cádiz. Highlights and problems of the 2015–2016 surveys have been or will be brought to the attention of the relevant assessment groups before their next meeting.