Report of the Industrial Fisheries Working Group

At the 78th Statutory Meeting it was decided (C.Res.1990/2:5:10) that the Industrial Fisheries Working Group should meet at ICES Headquarters from 20-27 March 1991 to:

a) assess the status of the stocks of the target species in the industrial fisheries, ie., sprat in Sub-area IV and Divisions IlIa, VIa, and VIId,e and Norway pout and sandeel in Sub-area IV and Divisions IlIa and VIa, and advise on the need for any management measures;

b) consider the report of the Multispecies Assessment Working Group and provide the data requested by that Working group;

c) estimate quarterly quantities and geographical distribution of by-catches of blue whiting, herring, cod, haddock, whiting, mackerel, and saithe taken in the fisheries for Norway pout, sandeel, and sprat in the North Sea and adjacent waters.

In addition, ACFM at its May and November meetings in 1990 asked the Group to consider sandeel stock/recruitment relationships, 'safe' levels of SSB/R for sandeel, the evidence for the separation of the sandeel in the North Sea into northern and southern stocks, and the biological basis for future scientific advice on North Sea sandeel stocks.