REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON MACKEREL AND HORSE MACKEREL EGG SURVEYS (WGMEGS)

The Working Group on Mackerel and Horse Mackerel Egg Surveys (WGMEGS) is primarilyresponsible for the planning and analysis of the ICES Triennial mackerel and horse mackerelegg surveys. The meetings are held in the years before and after the surveys themselves, theWG works by correspondence in the survey years themselves. The main activity for this meetingwas the reporting and analysis of the 2004 survey. The terms of reference and the outcomeswere as follows:a) analyse and evaluate the results of the 2004 mackerel and horse mackerel egg surveys ofthe western and southern areas;The 2004 surveys were carried out according to the plan laid out in the 2004 report ofWGMEGS, and were modified and adapted by the survey coordinators during the surveysthemselves. Within the periods chosen for the surveyed, the spatial and temporal coverage wasgenerally good, although there were some periods where additional sampling would have beenhelpful – particularly the Cantabrian Sea and the western area south of 52oN in period 2, andacross the western area in period 7. In general, sampling appeared to cover the bulk of thespatial range of both mackerel and horse mackerel spawning, and reached zero samples alongmost of the edges of the distribution.