| | We have published our latest assessment on the Recovery in the Population Abundance of Sensitive Fish Species this week. This species-level indicator assessment contains status maps for 158 species of fish found in the North-East Atlantic and documents the extent of recovery among populations of fish deemed sensitive to additional mortality from fishing. Fish species with life history traits such as large ultimate body size, slow growth rate, large length and late-age-at-maturity, are particularly sensitive to additional sources of mortality including through by-catch; with many populations known to have declined markedly in abundance through the 20th century, a period of marked expansion in fishing activity across the area assessed.
Also available to read now are 2 more of our pilot assessments. The pilot assessments on Ambient Noise in the North Sea, and the Pilot Assessment of Status and Trends of Persistent Chemicals in Marine Mammals are new, innovative assessments being conducted for the first time.
As always we would like to thank the experts, policy makers and all of those involved in preparing these assessments which contribute to our 2023 Quality Status Report (QSR) which, when viewed together, build a picture of the overall condition of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic and progress towards achieving our vision of a clean, healthy and biologically diverse North-East Atlantic Ocean, which is productive, used sustainably and resilient to climate change and ocean acidification. The results will also be used by OSPAR Contracting Parties to inform policy decisions.
We hope you enjoy these Indicator Assessments. Please do contact us with any comments at [email protected] #OSPARprotects
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