Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) in Division 4.a, Functional Unit 7 (northern North Sea, Fladen Ground)

ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, and under the assumptions that discarding would occur only below the minimum conservation size (MCS) and that fishery selection patterns do not change from the average (2013–2015), catches in 2017 should not exceed 12 699 tonnes. This would imply wanted catch of no more than 12 656 tonnes.

In order to ensure the stock in this functional unit (FU) is exploited sustainably, management should be implemented at the FU level. In recent years, the catch in this FU has been lower than advised, and if the difference is transferred to other FUs, this could result in non-precautionary exploitation of those FUs.