DOI: 10.14466/cefasdatahub.173
title: Fish and shellfish stock assessments data for the UK Marine Strategy 2024 assessment of descriptor 3

description: Stock assessment data sets for 58 quota fish stocks from 2003 to 2021 inclusive in the Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea and widely distributed were collected from ICES international stock assessments database (ICES Stock Information Database [year accessed 2023] ICES, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://sid.ices.dk). Stock assessment data sets for 62 non-quota shellfish stocks from 1990 to 2019 inclusive in the Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea were collected from national stock assessments reports and publications.

The stock assessment data for fish and shellfish stocks of UK interest is used to assess Good Environmental status for commercially exploited fish and shellfish, descriptor 3 (Impact of fishing on target species) under the UK Marine Strategy (UKMS). The 2024 UKMS assessment uses a stock assessment data to calculate of percentage of stocks being within safe biological limits considering 6-year period where required data is available to integrate two indicators assessments, reproductive capacity (based on spawning stock biomass) and fishing pressure (based on fishing mortality), considering specific maximum sustainable yield reference points that are relevant for each stock.

The datasets for quota stocks originate from international stock assessments published by ICES at https://standardgraphs.ices.dk/stockList.aspx.

The datasets for the non-quota shellfish stocks originate from national shellfish stock assessments that are published in specific reports as follows.

Cefas. (2015a). Lobster (Homarus gammarus). Cefas Stock Status Report 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lobster-homarus-gammarus-stock-status-report-2014 Cefas. (2015b). Edible crab (Cancer pagurus). Cefas Stock Status Report 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edible-crab-cancer-pagurus-stock-status-report-2014 Cefas. (2020a). Lobster (Homarus gammarus). Cefas Stock Status Report 2019. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crab-and-lobster-stock-assessments-2019 Cefas. (2020b). Edible crab (Cancer pagurus). Cefas Stock Status Report 2019. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crab-and-lobster-stock-assessments-2019

Delargy, A., Hold, N., Lambert, G. I., Murray L. G., Hinz H., Kaiser M. J., McCarthy, I., and Hiddink J. G. (2019). Welsh waters scallop surveys and stock assessment. Bangor University, Fisheries and Conservation Report No. 75. pp 48.

Dobby, H., Millar, S., Blackadder, L., Turriff, J., and McLay, A. (2012). Scottish Scallop Stocks: Results of 2011 Stock Assessments. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Volume 3 Number 10. ISSN: 2043-7722. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-marine-freshwater-science-volume-3-number-10-scottish-scallop/

Dobby, H., Fryer, R., Gibson, T., Kinnear, S., Turriff, J., and McLay, A. (2017). Scottish Scallop Stocks: Results of 2016 Stock Assessments. Scottish marine and Freshwater Science Vol 8 No 21, 178pp. https://doi.org/10.7489/2005-1

Lawler, A., Nawri, N., Harvey, J., Clarke, D., Vanstaen, K., Benedet, R., (2023). Cefas. (2023a). Assessment of king scallop stock status for selected waters around the English coast 2021/2022. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessment-of-scallops-stocks-202122

Mesquita, C., H. Dobby, A McLay (2016) Crab and Lobster Fisheries in Scotland: Results of Stock Assessments 2009 – 2012. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 9. Published by Marine Scotland Science. ISSN: 2043-7722.

Mesquita, C., H. Dobby, A McLay (2017) Crab and Lobster Fisheries in Scotland: Results of Stock Assessments 2013 – 2015. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 8 No 14. Published by Marine Scotland Science. ISSN: 2043-7722. DOI: 10.7489/1990-1.

Mesquita, C., Ellis, A., Miethe, T., and Dobby, H. (2023). Crab and Lobster Fisheries in Scotland: Results of Stock Assessments 2016-2019. Scottish Marie and Freshwater Science Vol 14 (5). 123 pp. https://doi.org/10.7489/12451-1.