As an intergovernmental organization on marine research that also deals with fisheries, ICES was confronted early on with issues related to the introductions of non-indigenous species, particularly diseases and parasites transferred with live transport of fish and shellfish for

relaying, stocking, ranching, and for fresh fish markets. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a primary concern was the need to assess the risks associated with deliberate transfers of species. As a result, the Working Group on Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms (WGITMO) was launched, meeting for the first time in Convy, Wales, 4 April 1979. Since then, the working group has met almost annually, with its 25th anniversary meeting held in Vancouver, Canada in 2003.

The first status report prepared by WGITMO on introduced species in the North Atlantic and its adjacent waters appeared in 1980. The second report, Status of Introductions of Non-Indigenous Marine Species into North Atlantic Waters 1981–1991, was published as ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 231 in 1999. The present report continues the earlier efforts and summarizes species introductions as reported during WGITMO meetings 1992–2002 (Table F1). The list of participants at the meetings considered here is provided in Annex 1.