ICES-FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB; outputs from 2024 meeting)

The Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB) discusses and syn-thesizes recent research on topics related to fishing technology and fish behaviour in relation to commercial fishing and survey gears. The group provides guidance for management and indus-try, including, inter alia, gear selectivity, reducing the impacts of fishing on the environment, and innovative technologies for improving fishing and research operations. The working group is jointly supported by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which have fostered a fruitful work-ing relationship in an international forum. WGFTFB supports FAO members and other ICES working groups and workshops, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and promoting collab-oration, and providing expertise upon request on fishing technology and fish behaviour.

The 2024 annual meeting of WGFTFB was hosted by the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Me-morial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada from 3-7 June. The 95 meeting participants convened daily in plenary to attend 15-minute scientific presentations (49 total) on the topics of: benthic interactions, energy use, selectivity, discard sur-vival, representative talks from the Topic Groups (ALDFG, Multi-Use, and Indicators), human behaviour, fish behaviour, innovative gear, and innovative gear as it pertains to whale interac-tions. In addition to oral presentations, posters were displayed for the duration of the meeting, and on Monday (June 3) afternoon authors stood by their posters to answer questions from meet-ing participants. During the meeting, it was decided that the next two meetings will take place from 15-20 May 2025 in Mazara del Vallo, Sicily (Italy) and in Cairns, Queensland, Australia in May 2026 (dates to be determined at 2025 meeting in Sicily). In addition, the first in-person meet-ing of the ICES Working Group on Size and Species Selection Experiments (WGSSSE), chaired by H. Einarsson (Iceland) and M. Pol (USA), was convened on June 2nd to coincide with the an-nual WGFTFB meeting given overlap in participation.