REPORT OF THE PLANNING GROUP FOR HERRING SURVEYS (PGHERS)

Review of larvae surveys in 2007/2008: In total seven units and time periods out often were covered in the North Sea. The herring larvae sampling period was finishedjust prior to the PGHERS meeting, thus sample examination and larvaemeasurements have not yet been completed. The information necessary for the larvaeabundance index calculation will be ready for and presented at the HerringAssessment Working Group (HAWG) meeting in March 2008.Coordination of larvae surveys for 2008/2009: In the 2008/2009 period, theNetherlands and Germany will undertake seven larvae surveys in the North Sea. TheBaltic Sea Fisheries Institute will continue with the larvae survey in the GreifswalderBodden area in 2008, based on the altered survey design and the reviewed routinesfor the calculation of the N20 time‐series as a recruitment index for the Baltic.