| European hake (Merluccius merluccius) is widely distributed over the north-east Atlantic shelf, from Norway to Mauritania. Despite its large distribution (covering ICES Division IIIa, Subareas IV, VI and VII and Divisions VIIIa,b,d, from Norway to the Bay of Biscay) and a complex population structure, the so-called northern stock of hake is currently assessed as a single unit, using a spatially aggregated implementation of the Stock Synthesis assessment model. In this study, a preliminary spatially explicit implementation of Stock Synthesis is developed, which accounts for the distribution of the hake population during its life cycle (nurseries and spawning areas) and the distribution of the fleets (trawlers, gillnetters and long-liners) exploiting the... |
