HELCOM - 13-та зустріч Групи зі сталого ведення сільського господарства

The ICES MIACO meeting took place on 18-19th January 2024. The event focused on the annual ICES and stakeholder meeting and on the ICES work and priorities. The MIACO was the annual meeting between ICES, Advisory Councils and other Observers.

CCB Participant in the meeting
- Nils Höglund, CCB Fisheries Officer

Outcomes of the meeting
An overview of the advice process and the advice provided in 2023 was given. MIACO was invited to review the advisory process in 2023 and to discuss any issues and concerns that had arisen since the 2023 MIACO meeting. Unexpected changes in advice after benchmarks were raised as a concern and ACOM is working to address this. MIACO was also informed that ACOM was planning to discuss mixed stock fisheries guidelines at their meeting in March.
MIACO 2024 specifically considered quality control and developments to improve the quality and transparency of the assessments and advice. It was agreed that there had been significant progress but further work was needed. A link to TAF for the stocks/advice that have been through the TAF process should be included in future.

Two ICES roadmaps were presented and discussed. The Offshore Marine Renewable Energy Roadmap was published the same week as the meeting. MIACO expressed interest in cumulative and combined effects, mentioning concern regarding the lack of knowledge on ORE impacts. ICES is working on a Special Request and is collaborating with OSPAR and others in this key area. An advanced draft of the ICES Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species by-catch roadmap was also presented and discussed. Input was sought from MIACO to the draft which will be published later in the spring.

Other key advice topics discussed included; conservation advice, VME advice, reference points, rebuilding plans and mixed fisheries. The most recent developments around stakeholder engagement and the conclusions of WKSTIMP, WKAFPA and WKENSURE were discussed these will be followed up on by ACOM in March. MIACO were also briefed on the plans and process for the Science and Advisory Plans revision and inputted to a prioritisation exercise around science needs.

Participation supported by

CCB's participation in the event was supported by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them