Report of the Benchmark Workshop on Faroese Stocks (WKFAROE 2017)

The Benchmark Workshop on Faroese Stocks (WKFAROE 2017), convened at two meetings, one data compilation workshop and the final benchmark meeting, both at ICES HQ, Copenhagen. Three stocks were benchmarked: saithe 27.5b, cod 27.5b1, and haddock 27.5b. The most important conclusions for each stock were:
Saithe 27.5b
The catch-at-age matrix was extended to last available age as a plus group (15), maturity ogives were revised with a simple 10-year running average and both Faroese groundfish surveys (summer and spring) were incorporated in the assessment model. The SAM model was adopted as the basis for advice. Reference points were calculated following the benchmark at NWWG 2017.
Cod 27.5b1
A number of working documents examining potential ecosystem interaction (e.g. cofluctuation of cod recruitment and haddock recruitment, correlations between cod recruitment since 1997 and the amount of sandeels etc.), but none of these were incorporated into the assessment.
The SAM model seems to work well for Faroe Plateau cod and it provides uncertainty estimates for the assessment outputs, including catch figures, which were previously lacking from the XSA model.
The SAM model was adopted as the basis for advice. Reference points were calculated following the benchmark at NWWG 2017.
Haddock 27.5b
The SAM model seems to work well for Faroe haddock and it provides uncertainty estimates for the assessment outputs, including catch figures, which were previously lacking from the XSA model.
The SAM model was adopted as the basis for advice. Reference points were calculated following the benchmark at NWWG 2017.