Report of the Working Group on Nephrops and Pandalus Stocks - Part 1 of 2

The Working Group on Nephrops Stocks met in Aberdeen, Scotland from 26 February to 5 March 1992 to:
a) Review and improve technical aspects of the existing assessments and evaluate the possibilities of utilising annual length composition information in the assessments;
b) Update the information where necessary (ie where input parameters have significantly changed) for Nephrops stocks in the ICES area on the state of exploitation and catch possibilities;
c) Assess the status of stocks of Pandalus borealis in the North Sea, Skagerrak, and Kattegat;
d) quantify if possible, increases in trawl efficiency and fishing power in fisheries for Nephrops and discuss the implications of such increases for the assessment of current fishing mortality;
e) prepare for the transfer of its work to area based working groups, advise how this might be best achieved, consider what difficulties might arise and how these could be overcome.