Report of the Working Group on Assessment of Pelagic Stocks in the Baltic - Part 1 of 2

In accordance with C.Res. 1986/2:5:12, the Working Group on Assessment of Pelagic Stocks in the Baltic met in order to:

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

ii) evaluate the results of any new investigations on the population structure of Baltic herring and sprat stocks which may provide evidence for changing the stock boundaries, with particular emphasis on herring in Subdivisions 25-27;

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

iv) assess the status of and provide catch options for 1988 within safe biological limits for the herring and sprat stocks in the Baltic, including the combined stock of spring-spawning herring in Division IIIa and Sub-divisions 22-24;

V) consider ways to provide catch options for herring in Subdivisions 22-24;

vi) estimate the distribution of fishing effort and catch per unit effort within and between the fishery zones of the IBSFC Contracting Parties;

vii) provide quarterly catch-at-age and catch and stock mean weight-at-age data by sub-division for Baltic herring and sprat fox 1980-1986 as input to the multispecies VPA.