Report of the Working Group on Assessment of Demersal Stocks in the Baltic

At the 75th Statutory Meeting of ICES in 1987, it was decided (C. Res. 1987/2:3:12) that the Working Group on Assessment of Demersal Stocks in the Baltic should meet at ICES Headquarters from 18-27 April 1988 to:

a) compile fishing effort and catch-per-unit-effort data for possible use in assessments;

b) consider the report of the Working Group on Multispecies Assessments of Baltic Fish;

c) assess the status of and provide catch options for 1989 within safe biological limits for the cod stocks in the Baltic;

d) estimate the by-catch of cod in the fisheries for herring, sprat, and flatfish and recommend appropriate technical measures to minimize this;

e) provide quarterly catch-at-age and catch and stock mean weight-at-age data by sub-division for Baltic cod for 1987 as input to the multispecies VPA.