Fcur/F0.1: Ratio between the observed fishing mortality coefficient during the last year of the series and F0.1.
Fcur/FMSY: Ratio between the observed fishing mortality coefficient during the last year of the series and the coefficient that would give a maximum sustainable yield over the long term.
Bcur/B0.1: Ratio between the estimated biomass for the last year and the biomass corresponding to F0.1.
Unless otherwise indicated, the indicators were based on the Schaefer dynamic production stock assessment model.

The Working Group decided to consider five stocks: the northern stock (Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) made up of Decapterus spp., Caranx spp., Trachurus trecae and other Carangidae; the western stock (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo) made up of the same species; the central stock (Cameroon and Nigeria), consisting of other Carangidae; the São Tomé stock consisted of Decapterus spp., and Caranx spp. and the southern stock (Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon) consisting of Trachurus trecae, Caranx spp., other Carangidae and Decapterus spp. for the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

TOTAL CATCH: Decapterus spp., the catches provided to the Working Group for the northern stock have an annual average of about 6 500 tonnes and are basically produced by the industrial fisheries off Guinea. A large decrease occurred from about 7 000 tonnes in 1998 to less than 3 000 tonnes in 2008. From 2008 to 2017, the catches fluctuated from about 3 000 tonnes to about 7 000 tonnes, finishing in a decreasing year in 2017 with about 5 000 tonnes. For the western stock, the annual average is about 1 500 tonnes, caught in Ghana. For the central stock, no data is available. Sao Tome & Principe has updated time series, with averaged annual catches around 200 tonnes and a slightly increasing trend during the 2000-2017 period. For the southern stock, reported catches increased regularly until 2012 (1 700 tonnes where registered), while the average is about 700 tonnes, and then drastically decreased in 2014 (130 tonnes).
EFFORT: In Guinea and Sierra Leone these species are mainly fished by encircling gillnets and driftnets in the artisanal fishery. In Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, small carangids are mainly fished by beach seine and purse seine.
Most of the industrial fleets’ effort is concentrated in the Guinean EEZ. The large pelagic trawlers that target horse mackerel come from eastern European countries (the Russian Federation and Ukraine). The nominal effort of this fleet (fishing days) decreased overall from more than 600 fishing days in 1996 to about 400 days in 2004, then recovered and increased to 900 days in 2005 before falling again to 600 days in 2007; there was an increase to 5 600 days in 2017 (Table 5.2.2).
Some of the countries have reported problems in their fishery data and information collection system, and only six of them have updated the effort time series. São Tomé has not reported new data and the available data needs to be revised because of the establishment of the new database.
CPUE: The CPUE, in tonnes per fishing day or positive trip, is calculated for each species or group of species in each stock where data are available (Figure 5.2.2a, figure 5.2.2b, figure 5.2.2c, figure 5.2.2d, table 5.2.2b, table 5.2.2c, table 5.2.2d, and table 5.2.2e). Some of the time series of fishing effort do not have the same units of measurements over the years or between fisheries. Therefore, global CPUEs cannot be considered by stock. For Decapterus rhonchus and Trachurus trecae, the CPUE series is based on the nominal effort of the industrial demersal fleet in Guinea (northern stock).

Assessment year: 2018
The CECAF Working Groups have adopted the following Biological Reference Points (BRPs):
- Limit Reference points: BMSY and FMSY
- Target Reference Points: B0.1 and F0.1
Stock status is assigned based on current estimates of fishing mortality (Fcur) and biomass (Bcur) relative to these target and limit reference points (Bcur/BMSY, Fcur/FMSY, Bcur/B0.1, Fcur/F0.1). The results from the stock assessment of this stock are found under the “Biological state and trend section”.