Report of the Joint ICES/OSPAR Ad hoc Group on Seabird Ecology (AGSE)

The planned meeting of the Working Group on Seabird Ecology (WGSE) in Texel, the Netherlands, 29 October–2 November 2012 unfortunately had to be cancelled due to lack of participants (other commitments and lack of travel funding).

The group was supposed to provide the scientific background for ICES advice re-sponding to two requests from OSPAR and consequently an alternative solution had to be found.

ICES managed to arrange a joint meeting with the OSPAR ICG-COBAM expert group on seabirds where the two requests could be addressed as well as the important is-sues of the ICG-COBAM group.

The Joint ICES/OSPAR Ad hoc Group on Seabird Ecology (AGSE) was chaired by Ian Mitchell (UK) and met in ICES Headquarter on 28–29 November 2012.

The group considered and discussed the two OSPAR requests. The remaining ToRs on the agenda for the cancelled WGSE meeting were not considered.

Only the issues relevant to ICES are presented in this report. The outcome of the meeting consist of three documents (Annexes 3–5) and provide background for the further ICES advisory process responding to the OSPAR requests.