Report of the Planning Group on North Sea Cod and Plaice Egg Surveys in the North Sea

The Planning Group on North Sea Cod and Plaice Egg Surveys [PGEGGS] (Chair: C. Fox, UK) will meet in Kiel, Germany from 11–12 November 2003 to:a) review existing plans for North Sea ichthyoplankton surveys for 2004 in light of funding decisions by member states;b) agree protocols for sampling, sample analysis and data handling;c) examine contingency planning for the surveys to deal with events such as poor weather;d) plan for a subsequent workshop at which detailed spatio-temporal analyses of the data from the surveys will be analysed.