Working Group on Science to Support Conservation, Restoration and Management of Diadromous Species (Outputs from 2022 Meeting) (WGDIAD)

Working Group on Science to Support Conservation, Restoration and Management of Diadromous Species (WGDIAD, formerly WGRECORDS), was established to provide a forum for the coordination of work on diadromous species following the disbanding of the Diadromous Fish Committee. The role of the Group is to coordinate work on diadromous species, organize Expert Groups, Theme Sessions and Symposia, and help to deliver the ICES Science Plan. The annual meeting of WGDIAD was held from 20 – 21 September 2022 13.00-17.00, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland & remotely by MS Teams in a hybrid format. The meeting was chaired by Hugo Maxwell (Ireland) and Dennis Ensing (UK) and was attended by 17 participants in total.

WGDIAD received reports from ICES Expert Groups and workshops working on diadromous species and considered their progress and future requirements. During the meeting, the following areas were discussed in more detail:

· Outcomes and deliverables from ICES EGs on diadromous fish during the last year, including a new EG on American Eel (WGAMEEL);

· A progress report on the International Year of the Salmon (IYS);

· A progress report of the work of the Intersessional Sub Group Diadromous fish (ISSG Diad) of the Regional Coordination Groups (RCGs). The subgroup has a coordinating function and identifies data collection needs for diadromous species in relation to the EU Data Collection Multi-Annual Programme (DC-MAP);

· A theme session proposal for the ICES ASC 2023, to be submitted in 2022, on advances in Ecosystem-scale strategies for sustainable governance of diadromous species; and

· Upcoming WGDIAD-related symposia in the autumn of 2022.