Report of the Planning Group on Surveys on Pelagic Fish in the Norwegian Sea (PGSPFN)

The report describes the procedures for the acoustic, hydrographic, plankton, and fish sampling during the ICES co-ordinated surveys in the Norwegian Sea in 2002 (Norway, Faroes, Iceland and Russia). The results of the surveys are presented including the distribution and stock estimates of Norwegian spring-spawning herring, blue whiting and other pelagic fish, and the environment of the Norwegian Sea and adjacent waters in late winter, spring and summer of 2002. The abundance estimates are used in the fish stock assessment in ICES (NPBWWG) and the collection of environmental data further improve the basis for ecosystem modelling of the Northeast Atlantic.