Report of the North Western Working Group (NWWG), Sec 5

Prior to 1996, the cod stocks off Greenland have been divided into West and East Greenland or treated as one stock unit for assessment purposes to avoid migration effects. Fjord populations (inshore) have always been included. In 1996, the offshore component off West and East Greenland, the so called Bank Cod, was assessed separately as one stock unit and distinguished from the inshore populations for the first time. The completion of a re-evaluation of available German sampling data for the offshore catches back to 1955 enabled such an analysis given in the 1996 North-Western Working Group report (ICES 1996/Assess:15). Due to the severely depleted status of the offshore stock component, the directed cod fishery was given up in 1992, the final year in the VPA. Since then, no adequate data were available to update the

assessment. Therefore, the present report includes the summary table and figures of the 1996 assessment only appended by long term management considerations and updated survey results and catch information.