Report of the FAO/CECAF Working Group on the assessment of demersal resources - Subgroup north. Banjul, Gambia, 6–14 November 2007 / Rapport du Groupe de travail FAO/COPACE sur l'evaluation des ressources demersales - Sous-groupe Nord. Banjul, Gambie, 6-14 novembre 2007

Abstract

The first meeting of the FAO/CECAF Working Group on the Assessment of Demersal Resources - Subgroup North, was organized in Saly, Senegal, from 14 to 23 September 2004.The second meeting of Subgroup North was organized in Banjul, The Gambia, 6-14 November 2007. The overall objective of the Group is to contribute to the improvement of the management of demersal resources in Northwest Africa through assessment of the state of stocks and fisheries to ensure the best sustainable use of the resourc es for the benefit of coastal countries. The study zone for the Working Group is the CECAF zone of the Central-East Atlantic Ocean between Cap Spartel and the south of Senegal. For reasons of heterogeneity, the species and stocks of the demersal Working Group were divided into four groups: hake, demersal fish, shrimps and cephalopods. For each of these groups information is provided on the fisheries: sampling schemes and sampling intensity, biological characteristics, stock identity, trends (c atch, effort, biological data and abundance indices), assessment, management recommendations and future research. Approximately 24 different stocks-units were analysed and the results discussed. The quality and trends in basic data (catch, effort, length distribution) collected by each different country and the sampling system, represented some of the main discussion topics of the last 2007 meeting of this Working Group. The results of the assessments confirm the conclusion reached at the last m eeting in 2004 that most of the stocks assessed are overexploited. A summary of the assessments and management measures is given at the end of this report.