Northern Shelf Blue Whiting Fisheries Management Plan

Glossary

FMSY – Fishing mortality rate that achieves MSY

MSY Btrigger – Biomass threshold triggering management action

Category 1 stock (ICES) – Stock with full analytical assessment and strong data

Analytical stock assessment – Model-based assessment using age/size data

Recruitment – Number of young fish entering the stock

Harvest Control Rule (HCR) – Pre-agreed rule linking stock status to TAC

Benchmarking (ICES) – Periodic review of assessment methods

Coastal States – Countries sharing management responsibility for a stock

Long-Term Management Strategy (LTMS) – Agreed international harvest framework

Quota sharing arrangement – Agreement on division of TAC between parties

Unilateral quota setting – Setting quotas independently (without agreement)

Directed pelagic fishery – Fishery targeting pelagic species like blue whiting

Pelagic trawl – Midwater trawl gear used to catch schooling fish

Industrial use (fishmeal/oil) – Processing fish into feed products

Wasp-waist ecosystem – System where mid-trophic species control energy flow

Prey field / prey availability – Availability of food for predators

Climate-driven stock shifts – Redistribution of stock due to warming seas

Northern Shelf blue whiting – Term used in JFS context; equivalent to part of the broader Northeast Atlantic blue whiting stock

Stock - A population of a species that is managed as a unit.