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

<p dir="ltr">ICES advises that when the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach is applied, and assuming that discard rates and fishery selection patterns do not change from the average of the years 2022–2024, catches in 2026 should be no more than 11 559 tonnes.</p><p dir="ltr">To ensure that the stock in Functional Unit (FU) 7 is exploited sustainably, management should be implemented at the FU level. The catch in FU 7 has been lower than advised in recent years, and if the difference is transferred to other FUs, this could result in exploitation of those FUs not being sustainable.</p><p dir="ltr">ICES notes the existence of a management plan, developed and adopted by one of the relevant management authorities for Subarea 4. </p><p dir="ltr"><br></p>