Minutes of the meeting of the ICES Advisory Committee, March 2021

The Advisory Committee of ICES met remotely to consider the following issues, the code of conduct, the recommendations of the benchmark oversight group (BOG), decisions on initiatives to consider changes in productivity in the ecosystem, and expert group reporting in light of the transparent assessment framework (TAF). It also further addressed quality control and assurance, reference points and rebuilding fish stocks, management strategy evaluations, retrospective patterns and incorporating survivability in discards estimates. ACOM also considered issues around assessment and advice on eel and salmon. More attention was given to data poor methods and how to document the framework for ecosystem services and effects advice. The group on ecosystem-based management and the Chair of the ICES Science Committee reported. ACOM considered next steps for the provision of advice online. Finally, ACOM considered and commented on the ongoing work and plans for fisheries overviews, ecosystem overviews, viewpoints, bycatch and sensitive species, vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), aquaculture and mixed fisheries advice.