Working Group on Mixed Fisheries Advice (WGMIXFISH-ADVICE)

The ICES Working Group on Mixed Fisheries Advice (WGMIXFISH-ADVICE) held a hybrid meeting to produce mixed fisheries forecasts for the Bay of Biscay, Celtic Sea, Iberian waters, Irish Sea and the North Sea. Mixed fisheries advice highlights the potential implications of single-stock (total allowable catch and effort) management on the catches of multiple stocks caught together in mixed fisheries. It considers past fishing patterns and catchability of the different fleets, and the TAC advice produced by the single-stock advice groups, to provide a quantitative forecast of over and underexploitation of the different stocks given mixed fishery interactions. The mixed fisheries forecasts were produced using the “FCube” (Fleet and Fishery Forecasts) methodology for the Celtic Sea and Irish Sea, and the “FLBEIA” (Bio-Economic Impact Assessment using FLR) methodology for the Bay of Biscay, Iberian waters and the North Sea.

The Bay of Biscay mixed fisheries projections consider the single-species advice of 13 stocks (ank.27.78abd, bss.27.8ab, hke.27.3a46-8abd, hom.27.2a4a5b6a7a-ce-k8, mac.27.nea, meg.27.7b-k8abd, mon.27.78abd, nep.fu.2324, pol.27.89a, sdv.27.nea, sol.27.8ab, whb.27.1-91214, and whg.27.89a). Given the single-stock catch advice for 2024, the most limiting stock for demersal fisheries in the Bay of Biscay is horse mackerel, due to the zero-catch advice and that almost all fleets within the mixed fishery catch this stock. The least limiting stock is white anglerfish (7 of 21 fleets). However, if horse mackerel were to be excluded as a restrictive stock due to the small contribution made by the demersal fleets to the total stock landings, the most limiting stock would be pollack whose quota is first reached for 7 of 21 defined fleets.

The Celtic Sea mixed fisheries projections consider the single-species advice for 15 stocks (cod.27.7e-k, had.27.7b-k, whg.27.7b-ce-k, nep.fu.16, 17, 19, 20–21, 22, and outside FUs, sol.27.7e, sol.27.7fg, mon.27.78abd, ank.27.78abd, meg.27.7b-k8abd, and hke.27.3a46-8abd). Given the single-stock catch advice for 2024, the most limiting stocks for demersal fisheries in the Celtic Sea are cod and whiting, choking 27 of 35 fleets, with 3 further fleets choked by cod alone. This is due to the zero catch advice for cod and whiting, and almost all fisheries operating with demersal gears that catch these stocks. The least limiting stock is Norway lobster in FU 2021 (18 fleets) followed by black-bellied anglerfish (16 fleets).

The Iberian waters mixed fisheries projections consider the single-species advice for 5 stocks (ank.27.8c9a, hke.27.8c9a, lbd.27.8c9a, meg.27.8c9a and mon.27.8c9a). Given the single-stock catch advice for 2024, the most limiting stock for demersal fisheries in the Iberian waters is hake, whose advised catch for 2024 is first reached for all 11 defined fleets. The least limiting stock is black-bellied anglerfish (10 of 11 fleets).

The Irish Sea mixed fisheries projections consider the single-species advice for 7 stocks (cod.27.7a, had.27.7a, ple.27.7a, sol.27.7a, whg.27.7a, nep.fu.14, and 15). Given the single-stock catch advice for 2024, the most limiting stocks for demersal fisheries in the Irish Sea are whiting, choking all of the 12 fleets, and sole and cod chocking 11 of 12 fleets. The least limiting stock is plaice (11 of 12 fleets).

The North Sea mixed fisheries projections consider the single-species advice for 21 stocks (bll.27.3a47de, cod.27.47d20, had.27.46a20, ple.27.420, ple.27.7d, pok.27.3a46, sol.27.4, sol.27.7d, tur 27.4, whg.27.47d, wit.27.3a47d, nep.fu.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 32, 33, 34, and 4 outFU). Given the single-stock catch advice for 2024, the most limiting stock for demersal fisheries in the North Sea is cod, whose advised catch for 2024 is first reached for 35 of 43 defined fleets. The least limiting stock is whiting (36 of 43 fleets).

Additional work included contributions to six technical requests.