Publication Abstract

In the North Sea, sandeels have been fished for oil and fishmeal by industrial fisheries since the early 1950s. Sandeels are also an important prey species for fish (e.g. cod and whiting), seabirds (kittiwakes, puffins, and guillemots) and marine mammals (common dolphins, grey seals and harbour porpoises). We compare the spatial pattern in CPR data for North Sea sandeels with catches by dedicated fish larval samplers (Gulf and Bongos) during ICES coordinated surveys in 2004 and 2009. Fish larval data from the CPR data has the potential to inform stock assessment and for the sandeel stock of Ammodytes marinus in the North Sea we conclude that the data are particularly useful in the assessment areas covering the Dogger Bank, Wee Bankie and Shetland regions.