Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in divisions 7.b–k (southern Celtic Seas and English Channel)

The new landings, lpue and survey data available for this stock do not change the perception of the stock and do not give reason to change the advice from 2008. The advice for the fishery in 2010 is therefore the same as the advice given in 2008 for the 2009 fishery: “Future catches and SSB will be highly dependent on the strength of incoming year classes and their discard mortality. No strong recruitment has been observed since 2002 and estimated recruitment for 2006 is the lowest since 1997. In this context the stock should be managed by ensuring that fishing effort is not allowed to increase.”

Additionally ICES notes that large numbers of haddock under the minimum landing size of 30 cm are caught and discarded. Due to high levels of discarding, the fleets have not been able to benefit from the increased biomass that follows strong recruitment. Catches more than doubled from 2006 to 2008.

This advice will be updated if the perception of the stock gives reason to change the advice.