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| Marine Resource Fact Sheet |
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| Whiting - North Sea, Eastern English Channel |
 | Whiting in Subarea IV (North Sea) and Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
| | Data Ownership | | This document provided, maintained and owned by International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) , is part of ICES Advice data collection. |
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| Related observations | Locate in inventory | | | | Species: | | FAO Names: en - Whiting, fr - Merlan, es - Plegonero, ru - Мерланг |
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| Geographic extent of Whiting - North Sea, Eastern English Channel
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| FAO Fishing Statistical Division Areas |
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| 27.4.a | Northern North Sea (Division IVa) |
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| 27.4.b | Central North Sea (Division IVb) |
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| 27.4.c | Southern North Sea (Division IVc) |
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| 27.7.d | Eastern English Channel (Division VIId) |
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| Main Descriptors | Considered a single stock: Yes
Spatial Scale: Sub-Regional
Management unit: Yes
Reference Year: 2012
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| Considered a single stock: A group of individuals in a species occupying a well defined spatial range independent of other stocks of the same species. It can be affected by random dispersal movements and directed migrations due to seasonal or reproductive activity. |
| Spatial Scale: Spatial scale contains a standard term such as Global, Regional (e.g. for the whole Atlantic), sub-regional (e.g. for a part of the Atlantic), national, local (for sub-national levels). |
| Considered a management unit: An aquatic resource or fishery is
declared as [Fishery] Management Unit if it is
effectively the focus for the application of selected
management methods and measures, within the broader
framework of a management system. According to the FAO
Glossary for Responsible Fishing, "a Fishery Management
Unit (FMU) is a fishery or a portion of a fishery
identified in a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) relevant
to the FMP's management objectives." FMU's may be
organised around fisheries biological, geographic,
economic, technical, social or ecological dimensions ,
and the makeup and attribute of a fishery management
unit depends mainly on the FMP's management
objectives. |
| Jurisdictional distribution: Jurisdictional qualifier (e.g.
"shared", "shared - highly migratory") of the aquatic
resource related with its spatial distribution. |
| Environmental group: Classification of the aquatic
resource according to the environmental group (e.g.
pelagic invertebrate, or demersal fish) to which the
species belong. |
| Reference Year: The last year considered in the assessment. |
| | | | | | Habitat and Biology Depth zone: Shelf (50 m - 200 m). Vertical distribution: Demersal/Benthic. Whiting are largely mature from age 2, which means recruitment can heavily influence the SSB in the following year at low stock sizes. The spatial distribution of whiting is considered to have changed over the last decade. This may represent a contraction to a sub-stock structure that coincides with the main spawning areas in the North Sea. The 2011 key run of the North Sea multispecies model (SMS), on which natural mortality estimates for this stock are based, indicates that whiting are a major prey component in the diet of many piscivorous fish and marine mammals. Geographical Distribution Jurisdictional distribution: Shared between nations Water Area Overview Spatial Scale: Sub-Regional
Ecoregion: North Sea
Geo References  | | Geographic extent of Whiting - North Sea, Eastern English Channel
| FAO Fishing Statistical Division Areas | 27.4.a: Northern North Sea (Division IVa) | | 27.4.b: Central North Sea (Division IVb) | | 27.4.c: Southern North Sea (Division IVc) | | 27.7.d: Eastern English Channel (Division VIId) |
| | | | | | Intersecting Major FAO areas and LME areas |
The following area codes have been found as intersecting the distribution of Whiting - North Sea, Eastern English Channel | FAO Major Fishing Areas | 27:
Atlantic, Northeast | | Large Marine Ecosystem Areas (LME) | 22: North Sea | | 24: Celtic-Biscay Shelf |
Resource Structure Considered a single stock: Yes Exploitation The fisheriesWhiting are caught in mixed demersal roundfish fisheries, fisheries targeting flatfish, the Nephrops fisheries, and as bycatches in the industrial sandeel and Norway pout fisheries. Cod recovery measures since 2002 have influenced the fisheries effort and local distribution as well as the selectivity by increasing minimum mesh sizes and implementing selective gear. Industrial fisheries have reduced considerably since 1995 due to low TACs. The Human Consumption TAC for this stock has been restrictive since 2000.
| Catch distribution |
Total landings (2011) = 31.3 kt, where 18.4 kt are landings (~39% demersal trawls and seine with mesh >= 100 mm North Sea, 28% demersal trawls mesh size 70–99 mm North Sea, 28% demersal trawls mesh size 70–99 mm Eastern Channel, and 5% other gears), 11.8 kt discards, and 1.1 kt industrial bycatch. |
. Assessment Scientific Advice ICES advises on the basis of precautionary considerations that landings should be no more than 26 000 t (human consumption for the combined area) in 2013. Management for Division VIId should be separated from the rest of Subarea VII Assessment Model Scientific basis
| Assessment type |
Age-based analytical (XSA). |
| Input data |
Two survey indices (IBTS Q1 & Q3 ages 1 to 5). |
| Discards and bycatch |
Included in the assessment for Subarea IV and Division VIId since 1990. |
| Indicators |
None. |
| Other information |
This assessment was benchmarked in 2009 (WKROUND), and is due to be benchmarked again in 2013. |
| Working group report |
WGNSSK |
Management Management unit: Yes Management plansIn 2011 ICES considered an F target of 0.3 (with a 15% TAC constraint) to be consistent with long-term stability even when recruitment is poor for several consecutive years. Based on a considerable revision in the level of fishing mortality in 2012, the target F is no longer considered applicable and the management target needs re-evaluation. Biological State and Trend Exploitation rate: Undefined
Abundance level: Undefined Source of information The above excerpts are from the first two pages of the ICES advice, the supporting information to this advice can be read in full at the following reference: ICES. Whiting in Subarea IV (North Sea) and Division VIId (Eastern Channel) Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, 2012. ICES Advice, WKNSSK 2012.  http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2012/2012/whg-47d.pdf |
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