Report of the Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf Demersal Stocks (WGSSDS)

It was decided at the 88th Annual Science Conference that the Working Group on the Assessment of Southern Shelf Demersal Stocks [WGSSDS] (Chair: A. Biseau, France) would meet at ICES Headquarters from 4-13 September 2001 to:

a) assess the status of and provide catch options for 2002 for stocks of cod, whiting, plaice, and sole in Divisions VIIe–k, haddock in Division VIIb-k, sole in Sub-area VIII, hake in Sub-areas III, IV, VI, VII, VIII, and IX, anglerfish and megrim in Sub-areas VII, VIII, and IX, taking into account technical interactions in mixed species fisheries;

b) identify major deficiencies in the assessments,

c) review the layout of a Quality Handbook and prepare a workplan for writing such a document. A draft of the Quality Handbook shall be reviewed by the Working Group in 2002.