Study Group on Establishing a Framework of Indicators of Salmon Stock Abundance (SGEFISSA

Highlights: · ICES has been asked by NASCO to provide a framework of indicators that would be used to identify any significant change in the previously provided multi­annual management advice for each NASCO Commission area.· The  Study  Group  on  Establishing  a  Framework  of  Indicators  of  Salmon  Stock Abundance (SGEFISSA) met and has provided a finalized version of the Framework of Indicators (FWI).· The  FWI  relies  on  informative  relationships  between  historical  monitoring metrics and estimates of population abundance to derive current abundance levels from contemporary metric values. These abundance estimates (and therefore the associated metric values) may be characterised as either meeting or failing to meet fishery­specific management objectives.· The SGEFISSA provided a FWI framework and template that can be applied in the management of the Greenland Fishery to identify any significant change in the previously provided multi­annual management advice.· The SGEFISSA has also provided a suggested timeline for the incorporation of the FWI into the management process for the Greenlandic and Faroese Atlantic salmon fisheries.· The SGEFISSA has not provided a similar FWI for the Faroese  fishery due to the lack of specific management objectives and quantitative catch advice. Quantitative catch advice for the Faroese fishery is not possible because of the lack of a predicative PFA model for three of the four contributing North­East Atlantic Commission stock complexes plus the absence of a formalized sharing agreement for any harvestable surplus amongst the Parties of NASCO.