Report of the Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf Demersal Stocks - Part 1 of 2

At the 79th Statutory Meeting, it was decided (C.Res.1991/ 2:7: 16) that the Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf Demersal Stocks should be established (Chairman: B. Mesnil) and should meet at ICES Headquarters from 8-17 September 1992 to:

a) assess the status of and provide catch options for 1993 and, if appropriate, 1994 for stocks of cod, whiting, plaice and sole in Divisions VIIe-k, and sole in Sub-area VIII;

b) provide information on the state of exploitation and, where possible, provide catch possibilities and advise on management options for hake stocks in Sub-areas III, IV, VI, VII, VIII and IX and stocks of anglerfish anu megrim in Sub-areas VII, VIII anu IX;

c) consider the application of the methodology developed by the Working Group on Fisheries Units in Sub-areas VII and VIII to the mixed fisheries in Divisions VIIIc and IXa and, if possible, evaluate options for technical measures appropriate to these fisheries taking into account technical interactions between the component fleets and species.