Report of the Atlanto-Scandian Herring and Capelin Working Group

The Atlanto-Scandian lIerring and Capelin Working Group (Chairman: Mr 11.1. Jakupsstovu, Faroes) met at ICES Headquarters from 19-23 October 1992 (C.Res.1991/2:7:20) with the following terms of reference:

a) assess the status of and provide catch options for 1993 and 1994 within safe biologicallimits for the Norwegian spring- and Icelandic summer-spawning herring stocks;

b) provide any new information on the present spatial and temporal distribution of Norwegian springspawning herring;

c) evaluate the expectation ofre-building the spawning stock biomass of Norwegian spring-spawning herring to the target level of2.5 million tonnes and review stock recovery policies in relation to this;

d) assess the status of capelin in Sub-areas V and XIV and provide catch options within safe biological limits for the winter 1992/1993 and summerlauturnn 1993 seasons;

e) assess the status of and provide catch options for capelin in Sub-areas I and H (excluding Division Ha west of 5°W) for the winter 1992/1993 and summer/aulurnn 1993 seasons;

f) evaluate differences between capelin stock assessments based on stomach data and acoustic surveys and make recommendalions as to how these can be reconciled;

g) review and revise estimates of natural mortality of capelin in Sub-areas I, H (excluding Division Ha west of 5°W), V, and XIV;

h)· evaluate the available data from multispecies studies and consider how they can be utilized in the assessments of capelin, herring, and cod stocks, and specify the format of the data required.