| Summary: | This document updates some of the indices for northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) harvested within NAFO Divisions 3M. The last assessment (biannual) for this resource was completed, within Scientific Council during autumn 2017. Scientific Council recommended that the fishing mortality for 2018 and 2019 be set as close to zero as possible. The indices of biomass in the 2019 EU survey increase, confirming recent upward trend. The stock size is now well above Blim and it is from 2018 outside the collapse zone defined by the NAFO PA framework. In the 2019 EU summer survey the 3M total and female biomass index was 9273 and 8486 t respectively. The abundance at age 2 was similar to the estimated in 2018 at levels next to reported in 2009 and 2010, but unlike in 2018 the abundance at age 1 in the small mesh size bag attached on the cod-end was the second value highest in the series. If this strong year-class was confirmed in 2020 it would improve the state of impaired recruitment, allowing a small amount of direct fishing on this stock. Considering the uncertainty about the future recruitments in the fishable stock the next years, Scientific Council advises that the exploitation level for 2020 not to exceed 2009 level.
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