Report of the Working Group on Integrated Assessments of the North Sea (WGINOSE)

WGINOSE is a new initiative to develop the science base for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEA) in the ICES area. The group works towards this goal in coopera-tion with similar groups within the ICES SCICOM Steering Group on the Regional Seas Programme (SSGRSP). The meeting gathered 40 scientists from 5 countries. This first meeting of WGINOSE had the aim to reactivate activity towards Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEA) for the North Sea using the groundwork of the REGNS group and WGHAME as baseline. Its focus was clearly on reviewing available (i) ap-proaches to IEA, (ii) data for analyses on ecosystem status and trends, as well as (iii) modelling approaches to be used in a future IEA. The meeting was quite successful in terms of participation: it was attended by scientists from many different fields and hence set the baseline for its future work.