Stock status evaluation at ICES

This activity is the structural core of EVALICES. It is an activity directed from ICES with a previously established calendar, although variable depending on the evaluation group.

  • Preparation of input data.

    • The EVALICES coordinator will contact the evaluators and the evaluation support teams at the beginning of the year (January) to identify possible problems and seek solutions

    • Establishment of the appropriate connections with the data supplying projects required in the evaluation: commercial captures, biological data and campaign data.

    • Exploratory analysis and quality check of the input data to the evaluation.

    • Sending supervised information to ICES in the requested formats (INTERCATCH, etc).

  • Evaluate each of the stocks, according to the methodology accepted by ICES for each one of them. In the case of the stocks that are the object of this project, these methodologies currently cover different models: SS3 (northern hake, sardine and southern white monkfish), XSA (both southern roosters), ASPIC (southern black monkfish), GADGET (southern hake), Bayesian production models BBM (anchovy from the Bay of Biscay), ICA (mackerel), SMS (blue whiting), AMISH (southern horse mackerel), ADAPT (horse mackerel) and exploratory evaluations (based on trends in CPUEs and/ or indices independent of fishing activity), for those stocks for which there is no approved analytical assessment.

  • Assistance to ICES evaluation groups, WGBIE (Working Group for the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Waters Ecoregion), WGHANSA (Working Group on Horse Mackerel, Anchovy and Sardine), WGWIDE (Working Group on Widely Distributed and Migratory Stocks); WGDEEP (Working Group on Deep Water Species); WGEF (Working Group on Elasmobranch Fishes); WGCEPH (Working Group on Cephalopod Fisheries and Life History) and WGBYC (The Working Group on Bycatch of Protected Species).

  • Preparation of the evaluation report for the Spanish member of the ADG (Advice Drafting Group) and ACOM. Synthesis of the evaluation. Identification of the weakest aspects, sources of uncertainty with an impact on advice, management considerations. etc.

  • Collaboration in the information to the sector and the administration of the advices resulting from the evaluations and their problems.