Working Group on Beam Trawl Surveys (WGBEAM)

The Working Group on Beam Trawl Surveys (WGBEAM) coordinates and implements European inshore and offshore beam trawl surveys, including planning, standardization, data transmission and data quality assurance. The group also coordinates the Italian-Slovenian and Croatian beam trawl survey in the Adriatic Sea as there is no other body in the EU coordinating beam trawl surveys, and the EU Data Collection Framework requires survey coordination. In 2024, eleven beam trawl surveys were planned, covering the North Sea, 7d, 7e, 7fg, 7a, 8a, 8b and the Northern Adriatic Sea. Severe weather conditions affected the German offshore beam trawl survey, and the Dutch inshore surveys SNS and DYFS in the North Sea, but the spatial coverage remained intact. The English offshore survey in Q1 was affected by bad weather and by delay of permission for sampling in French waters, leading to incomplete spatial coverage. The Belgian and Italian offshore surveys were carried out on board commercial vessels due to unavailability of the research vessels. In both cases the sampling procedures were amended to be able to collect all information. The Dutch offshore North Sea survey and the SNS, as well as the English offshore survey in the Celtic Sea and Irish Sea faced mechanical issues, which led only for the English survey to incomplete spatial coverage. For the first time, the progress was shown on the monthly survey in the Dutch Wadden Sea, set up to monitor the species year-round. Survey results from the offshore and inshore surveys as well as two industry beam trawl surveys were presented in a joint session with survey data end-users: North Sea and Celtic Sea flatfish, elasmobranch and Crangon working group. Stock coordinators presented relevant results from the benchmark groups on brill, sole, turbot, and one of the chairs of the ICES working group on Crangon fisheries presented the use of survey data in the Crangon stock assessment. R scripts to evaluate the combined offshore and inshore beam trawl survey data by region and cross-regionally have been further developed. Specific analyses have been conducted on elasmobranchs, patterns in abundance and spatial distribution; species identification consistency in inshore and offshore surveys; age at length consistency for four flatfish species in the North Sea, Cetlic and Irish Sea: sole Solea solea, lemon sole Microstomus kitt, plaice Pleuronectes platessa and dab Limanda limanda. Length-frequency plots were created for all species, and outliers exported for further checking. A first analysis on the occurrence of whiting and brown shrimp (Crangon) was conducted, and a crude inventory of Cephalopod catches in the surveys was made. Developments in the ICES database on trawl surveys were presented by ICES Data Centre, and feedback was given where requested. The TIMES survey protocol for offshore surveys (published in 2023) was updated where needed, to prepare for publication after mid-2025. The TIMES survey protocol for inshore surveys (published in 2024) was updated where needed and will be published in approximately two years. The progress in day-ring analysis for plaice in the North Sea was presented, and appointments were made to exchange expertise.