Report of the ICES Advisory Committee on Ecosystems, 2002

The ICES Advisory Committee on Ecosystems (ACE) met from 7 to 11 June 2002. During this meeting, ACE prepared responses to requests from the European Commission Directorate General for Fisheries on the by-catch of small cetaceans in fisheries and on the occurrence of cold-water corals that may be impacted by fisheries; ACE also provided some preliminary material on issues of concern to the EC in relation to the impacts of fishing on the ecosystem. Furthermore, ACE provided a preliminary response to the Helsinki Commission with regard to a request on marine habitat classification, and, at the request of the OSPAR Commission, reviewed the evidence for the justification for the proposed OSPAR Priority List of Threatened and Declining Species and Habitats.