Working Group on International Deep Pelagic Ecosystem Surveys (WGIDEEPS)

The Working Group on International Deep Pelagic Ecosystem Surveys (WGIDEEPS) planned the redfish survey in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters in June/July 2024. Due to a suspension of all Russian participation in ICES on 30 March 2022, Russia will not participate in IDEEPS in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters in 2024.

The detailed planning of the international trawl/acoustic survey on pelagic redfish in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters in June/July 2024 has been agreed by the two participating countries. Two vessels from Germany and Iceland will participate in the survey and operate within an area of around 280 000 square nautical miles (NM2) in the Irminger Sea to estimate the abundance and biomass of pelagic redfish (Sebastes mentella). In the depth zone that can be sur-veyed by hydro-acoustic measurements, shallower than the deep-scattering layer (DSL; down to about 350 m), hydro-acoustic measurements and identification trawls will be carried out. Within and below the DSL (down to about 950 m), redfish abundance will be estimated by trawls.

The trawl method applied is the same as in the 2009-2021 surveys and is line with the recom-mendation from ICES to study separately the stocks shallower and deeper than 500 m. As in past surveys, biological data will be collected from the redfish caught in the pelagic trawls, and hy-drographical measurements will be taken on regular stations on the survey tracks.

During this year´s survey, the international North Atlantic Sightings Surveys (NASS), a cetacean survey that has been conducted since 1987, will be carried out on the Icelandic research vessel in parallel to IDEEPS.

WGIDEEPS updated the survey manual of IDEEPS, with an incorporation of the Norwegian Sea survey with the aim of publishing the manual in ICES TIMES.