Sandeel, anchovy and North Sea cod still depleted

The conclusion of the report is that the overall status of the fish stocks has not changed much from 2005 to 2006. Sustainable exploitation can be stated for Norwegian Spring Spawning herring, and there are indications of recovery of the Northern hake stock. However, there are still numerous stocks that are too heavily fished and stocks that are depleted – notably cod stocks and sandeel in the North Sea.

Some positive developments can indeed be reported. Management plans begin to generate first improvements for Northern Hake in the Bay of Biscay and west of the British Isles. Similar plans are being developed for species such as Blue Whiting and Haddock. ICES is increasingly focusing on advice for long term management plans, thereby shifting the attention from the short-term advice to a longer-term perspective.

A summary of the state on some fish stocks and the advice given by ICES is stated below:

Northern Hake – appears to have recovered to safe biological levels. ICES recommends following a recovery plan for 2007 and converting it into a management plan.

Herring – is at a sustainable level. The advice is to follow the management plan and to allow higher catches in 2007.

Norway Lobster (Nephrops) – scientific assessments are difficult to obtain, so new types of surveys are being developed to aid assessments. The 'TV-survey' will crawl over the seabed ad monitor the amount of burrows and this can be converted into an estimate of stock abundance. The state of stocks is still uncertain but the surveys indicate that a number of stocks have been increasing since the mid-1990s. ICES advises that the effort in these fisheries should not be allowed to increase.

Anchovy – is still depleted in the Bay of Biscay. The fishery was closed in July 2005 and July 2006 and it is recommended that the fishery remains closed and could considered for re-opening if the 2007 spring surveys indicate high recruitment.

Cod – in certain areas has been assessed separately.

1) Cod stocks in the northern areas such as the Barents Sea and around Iceland are large and productive.

2) In southern areas a poor stock status prevails and fishing mortality is high despite lower catches.

The advice from ICES is that there should be no catch in 2007 for all southern cod stocks.

Plaice and Sole – flatfish stocks in the North Sea are intensively exploited. Plaice has been below the recommended levels for a number of years and sole is also below the recommended level. The advice is to reduce catches of North Sea plaice in order to rebuild the stocks, and to reduce both fishing mortality and catches of sole in 2007.

Sandeel – stocks have declined since the late 1990's and the fishery was limited in 2005 and 2006. There has been low recruitment in recent years and as sandeel is an important forage species for some seabirds, efforts should be made to keep biomass available as prey for these birds. The recommendation is for the fishery to remain closed until information is available on incoming year classes that can lead to a rebuilding of the stock.

Mackerel – Northeast Atlantic mackerel is harvested unsustainably. As there are indications of underreporting of catches, ICES recommends to follow the existing management plan and to assure that all catches are monitored.

Blue Whiting – is harvested unsustainably. The recommendations are to reduce catches substantially in order to reduce fishing mortality and to take account of the decreasing stock size.

Sharks and Rays – are in a depleted state and no targeted fisheries should be allowed.