International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group (IBTSWG) ...

• Main Author: ICES
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: ICES Scientific Reports 2024
• Subjects: Ecosystem observation, processes and dynamics; Fisheries and aquaculture; Technologies and data; Atlantic, Northeast ICES Ecoregion; FAO area 27; Greater North Sea ICES Ecoregion; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.23743989; https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/report/International_Bottom_Trawl_Survey_Working_Group_IBTSWG_/23743989

The International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group (IBTSWG) coordinate fishery-independent bottom trawl surveys in the ICES Area (Northeast Atlantic and North Sea) providing an important platform for the collection of additional data such as sampling larval sprat, stomach contents and fish parasites. These long-term monitoring surveys provide data for stock assessments and facilitate analyses of the distributions and relative abundance of fish. IBTSWG promotes the standardization of fishing gears and methods. This report summarizes national contributions in 2022–2023 and plans for the 2023–2024 surveys. In the North Sea, the surveys are performed in Quarter 1 and Q3. The Northeast Atlantic surveys are conducted mostly in Q1, Q3, and Q4 with a suite of 14 national surveys covering large areas of continental shelf extending from northern Scotland to the Gulf of Cádiz. The 2023-Q1 North Sea IBTS was impacted slightly by mechanical issues on one vessel, resulting in some of the Rectangles in the central North ...