Joint Russian Norwegian Arctic Fisheries Working Group (JRN-AFWG) Report 2024

Source at https://www.hi.no/hi/nettrapporter/imr-pinro-2024-7.On 30th March 2022 all Russian participation in ICES was temporally suspended. Although the announcement of the suspension stressed the role of ICES as a “multilateral science organization”, this suspension applied not only to research activities, but also to the ICES work providing fisheries advice for the sustainable management of fish stocks and ecosystems. As a result of the suspension, the ICES AFWG provided advice only for saithe, coastal cod north, coastal cod south, and golden redfish (Sebastes norvegicus). Northeast Arctic (NEA) cod, haddock and Greenland halibut assessments have been conducted outside of ICES in a newly constituted Joint Russian-Norwegian Working Group on Arctic Fisheries (JRN-AFWG). Although this work has been conducted independently of ICES, the methodologies agreed at ICES benchmarks and agreed HCRs (Harvest Control Rules) have been followed in providing this advice. In 2024 we are giving 2-year advice for both Greenland halibut and beaked redfish. The beaked redfish model is planned for a method revision prior to the next advice. Advice on fishing opportunities for NEA cod The NEA cod stock is continuing to decline following a period of moderate to poor recruitment. Following the agreed HCR, the advice for 2025 is that catches should be no more than 311 587 tonnes. This is down from 453 427 because the stock is projected to fall below Bpa, and therefore the stability constraint on interannual catch variation does not apply. Provided that this advice is followed, then projections indicate that at current recruitment levels the stock should stabilize and start to rise after 2027. Advice on fishing opportunities for NEA haddock Advice is that catches in 2025 should not exceed 106 912 tonnes, down from 127 550 tonnes, from the advice in 2023. A relatively good yearclass in 2021 should enter the fishery in 2026- Provided that this yearclass is not heavily caught at small sizes then then should lead to an increase in stock and catches thereafter. In recent years there has been a rise in the catch of small haddock, and if this is not curtailed then there is a risk that a large part of the incoming yearclass could be fished before reaching a size to give optimum yield. Advice on fishing opportunities for Greenland halibut The Greenland halibut stock is projected to fall below Bpa in the course of 2024, which has resulted in lowered advice. The advice is that catches in 2025 should be no more than 12 431 tonnes, and catches in 2016 should be no more than 14 891. This stock has a history of quota and catches being set above advice, which has led to the decline of the stock. There is good yearclass in 2019 which offers a prospect of an increase in stock and advice – provided the advice is followed and the stock is not further reduced. Advice on fishing opportunities for beaked redfish The stock is at a high level, with SSB rising slowly and total fishable biomass relatively stable. The catch advice is no more than 67 191 tonnes in 2025 and 69 177 tonnes in 2026, compared to an advice of 70 164 tonnes for 2024. There has been a high retrospective pattern for this stock assessment, and a method revision is planned before the next advice is due (for the 2027 fishing season)

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Arctic Fisheries Working Group (AFWG)

Since 30 March 2022, all Russian Federation participation in ICES has been suspended. Although the announcement of the suspension stressed the role of ICES as a “multilateral science organization” this suspension applied not only to research activities but also to the ICES work of providing fisheries advice for the sustainable management of fish stocks and ecosystems. As a result of the suspension, it is not possible to run ICES stock assessments or provide ICES advice for the Barents Sea stocks of NEA cod, NEA haddock, capelin, beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella), or Greenland Halibut, as management and data collection for these stocks are shared between Norway and Russia. There are therefore no AFWG stock assessments for these stocks this year. Assessment and advice for these stocks are being conducted outside ICES through the bilateral Russian-Norwegian group, the Joint Russian-Norwegian Arctic Fisheries Working Group (JRN-AFWG). The most recent assessment reports are available via the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) website: • The report of the JRN-AFWG 2023 is available here: https://www.hi.no/en/hi/nettrapporter/imr-pinro-en-2023-7 The JRN-AFWG 2023 capelin report is available here: https://www.hi.no/en/hi/nettrapporter/imr-pinro-en-2023-9 The assessments in 2022 and 2023 occurred outside ICES but were based on the stock annexes previously agreed within ICES, used the same data and models as previously, and were conducted by the same Russian and Norwegian scientists that were involved in the previous ICES assessments. The managing body in the Barents Sea (the Joint Norwegian Russian Fisheries Commission; JNRFC) has endorsed this approach and has used the advice from the JRN-AFWG as the basis of management following the same procedures previously used for ICES advice. There is therefore currently no possibility to produce, and no current management need for, ICES assessments for these stocks. This year AFWG is providing ICES advice for saithe, coastal cod north and coastal cod south and golden redfish (S. norvegicus). In addition, an assessment has been run for anglerfish, although there is no formal request for advice for this stock. Assessments for Greenland halibut, NEA cod, NEA haddock, beaked redfish (S. mentella), and capelin were run at the JRN-AFWG in since 2022, and there are links to the advice from 2023 below

Advice on fishing opportunities for beaked redfish in 2025 and 2026 in ICES subareas 1 and 2

Source at https://www.hi.no/hi/nettrapporter/imr-pinro-en-2024-11

Workshop on the calculation and evaluation of new reference points for category 1-2 stocks (WKNEWREF)

WKNEWREF is the third workshop of a series of meetings about reference points for category 1 and category 2 stocks being WKREF1 and WKREF2 the preceding ones. The goal of WKNEWREF was to put the recommendations of WKREF2 into practice to identify empirically the strengths and weaknesses of proposed reference points. Ultimately, WKNEWREF should propose alternative definitions or methods to calculate the reference points in the current ICES framework and investigate the use of an Ftarget below FMSY in the ICES advice rule (AR). The workshop had two sets of terms of reference, the first one consisted of the estimation of the stock–recruitment relationship and a set of reference points in a representative group of category 1 and 2 stocks. The second one consisted of the identification of the issues encountered when fitting the stock–recruitment relationship and the strengths and weaknesses of estimated reference points. Reference points were calculated for more than 20 stocks. WKNEWREF made a series of recommendations based on the conducted analysis: Allee effect: The presence of the Allee effect should be evaluated when defining Blim, particularly when the stock has experienced periods of low stock spawning biomass. Blim should always be set above the Allee effect threshold if it exists and can be estimated. Regime shifts: Robustness of the ICES AR to changing productivity scenarios should be tested. The research on factors determining the productivity of stocks should continue and on the development of models that account for changes in productivity without the need for truncating time-series. Stock–recruitment relationship: The current guidelines to define the stock–recruitment relationship should be revised to make them more precise. The sensitivity of the parameters to historical data points should be evaluated before selecting the year range to use for the calculation of reference points. Blim: Several recommendations in relation to Blim were made. First, quantitative criteria to assign the stock type for the definition of Blim should be defined. Second, for type 5 stocks, Bloss should be replaced by the empirical Blim. Third, when defining Blim the corresponding B0 percentage should be calculated as a sense checking. The guidelines should include the option of using %B0 to define Blim for model ensembles and production models. Furthermore, when the Blim derived from the current six stock types is not considered reasonable, defining it as %B0 may be considered. In such cases, percentages used in the literature and obtained in the ICES database for different families should be considered as a reference value. FMSY and Fpa: FMSY and Fpa should be calculated including the time-lag between management and advice. The calculation of Fpa should incorporate the advice rule. An accessible tool to allow the estimation of FMSY and Fpa including the time-lag should be developed. MSY Btrigger: The system was not very sensitive to the MSY Btrigger value and no particular recommendations were made. Ftarget: The workshop found benefits in exploiting the stock at exploitation levels below FMSY and difficulty in defining an alternative fishing mortality reference point that is equivalent among stocks. The main drawback of reducing the target fishing mortality would be the short-term losses in catches. In the short term, future work should focus on defining MSY Btrigger and Ftarget and developing a simulation tool that can incorporate the recommendations made. In the longer term, the integration of changes in productivity into the calculation of reference points and the advice rule should be studied

Liste over forvaltningsrelevante naturenheter - Oppfølgende informasjon til rapporten "Forvaltningsrelevante naturenheter i sjø"

I forbindelse med forvaltningens oppgave om å lage en framtidig samlet offentlig instruks for kartlegging av marin natur, bestilte fiskeridirektoratet i en oversikt over der havforskningsinstituttet ville foreslå som "Forvaltningsrelevante naturenheter i sjø". Denne rapporten ble levert og publisert 29.04.2024. I den rapporten foreslo Havforskningsinstituttet å utvide begrepet naturenheter til også å omfatte funksjonsområder for arter, og områder viktig for struktur og sentrale økosystemprosesser. Totalt ble det foreslått 20 abiotiske fysiske enheter, 3 biotiske fysiske enheter, 6 hovedgrupper av funksjonsområder (for totalt 46 arter) og 9 struktur og prosessområder som kunne danne grunnlag for kartlegging av marin natur. Denne rapporten er en utdyping av rapporten "Forvaltningsrelevante naturenheter i sjø", der alle naturenhetene som er foreslått blir nærmere forklart samt at det presenteres et perspektiv på ulike aspekter som kan være viktig for prioritering av hva som skal kartlegges. Enkelte naturenheter har fått mindre endringer i navn og innhold til det opprinnelige forslaget, men den første rapporten har vært førende for innhold. Det kan være aktuelt å revidere hvilke naturenheter som vil være viktige og om noen naturenheter ikke nødvendigvis har samme betydning for forvaltningen på et senere tidspunkt.Liste over forvaltningsrelevante naturenheter - Oppfølgende informasjon til rapporten "Forvaltningsrelevante naturenheter i sjø"publishedVersio