Blue Whiting Acoustic Survey Cruise Report March-April 2006

• Main Authors: Mullins, Eugene, Johnston, Graham, Power, Gavin, Goddijn, Lonneke, Mackey, Mick
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Marine Institute 2006
• Subjects: CE0606; Faroe Islands; Norway; Bergen; Faroes; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10793/682; http://catalog.marine.ie/geonetwork/srv/en/main.home

Use the URI link below to search the Marine Institute Data Discovery Catalogue for datasets relevant to this report. Acoustic surveys on the blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) stock in the north east atlantic have been carried out since the early 1970s by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway. In the early 1980s a coordinated acoustic survey approach was adopted, with both Russia and Norway participating to estimate the size of the combined stock. The acoustic survey programme is carried out for fishery management purposes and is continued to date. Results of this annual spawning stock assessment combined with juvenile surveys and commercial catch at age data are presented annually at the ICES led Northern Pelagic and Blue Whiting Fisheries Working Group. Ultimately, from this combined scientific data, management and catch advice is determined for the following year. The highly migratory nature of the combined stock requires a large geographical area to be surveyed during a protracted spawning period. Consequently Acoustic surveys are routinely carried out on specific spawning and post-spawning aggregations of blue whiting. To facilitate a more coordinated spatio-temporal approach to spawning stock assessment, several nations became involved in the PGNAPES coordinated survey programme in 2004. Ireland is one of these nations involved in this annual survey. The 2006 survey was part of an International collaborative survey coordinated by the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway, using the vessel the RV “G.O. Sars”. Also participating were the RV “Atlantniro” (Russia), RV “Tridens” (RIVO, Netherlands) the RV “Magnus Heinason” (Faroes) and RV “Celtic Explorer” (Ireland). The total combined area surveyed in 2006 covered from the Faroe Islands in the north (62°of longitude) to the southern coast of Ireland (51° N), area coverage to the west extended from 4°-18° of latitude. The Irish component of the survey was made up of transects covering some 2,632 nautical miles (Figure 1). In addition to ...