The “Smalls” Nephrops Grounds (FU22) 2023 UWTV Survey Report and catch scenarios for 2024

This report provides the main results and findings of the eighteenth annual underwater television survey on the ‘Smalls grounds’ ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 22. The survey was multi-disciplinary in nature collecting UWTV and other ecosystem data. A total of 41 UWTV stations were surveyed successfully (high quality image data), carried out over an isometric grid at 4.5nmi or 8.3km intervals. The precision, with a CV of < 7%, was well below the upper limit of 20% recommended by SGNEPS (ICES, 2012). The 2023 abundance estimate was 13% lower than in 2022 and at 776 million is below the MSY Btrigger reference point (990 million). Using the 2023 estimate of abundance and updated stock data implies catch in 2024 that correspond to the ICES MSY approach of 1912 tonnes, assuming that discard rates and fishery selection patterns do not change from the average of 2020 - 2022. One species of sea pen was recorded as present at the stations surveyed: Virgularia mirabilis. Trawl marks were observed at 37% of the stations surveyed.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10793/1878

Citation

Doyle, J., Bentley, K., Sullivan, M., Opanowski, A., Sugrue, S., Farrell, E., Domingos, M., Hehir, I., Ní Chonchúir, G., and McCorriston, P. (2023). The “Smalls” Nephrops Grounds (FU22) 2023 UWTV Survey Report and catch scenarios for 2024. Marine Institute UWTV Survey report.