Descriptor 3: Commercially-Exploited Fish and Shellfish Descriptor 3: Populations of all commercially exploited fish and shellfish are within safe biological limits, exhibiting a population age and size distribution that is indicative of a healthy stock. The primary and secondary criteria for Descriptor 3, and their relationship to the indicators of 2010/477/EU are shown in Table 1. There are three aspects to Descriptor 5: Pressure: D3C1 relates to the level of fishing pressure on fish stocks, and D3C4 relates to the level of pressure of mortality on bycatch species; Status: D3C2 and D3C3 relate to the status of fish stocks. Table 1 Primary and secondary criteria for Descriptor 3 2010/477/EU criteria and Primary criteria relating to: Secondary criteria relating to: indicators D3C1 Fishing mortality (F) 3.1.1 D3C4 Mortality of by-catch – Pressure species D3C2 Spawning stock 3.2.1 biomass (SSB) D3C3 Age and size 3.3 Status distribution Level of integration Criteria C1, C2 and C3 should be within threshold values. C4 does not have any threshold values defined but should contribute to the assessments of the relevant species under Descriptor 1. The envisaged level of integration across criteria is as follows: Commercially-exploited stocks: C1, C2 and C3 are primary and are integrated for each stock; By-catch (species of birds, mammals, reptiles and non-commercially-exploited species of fish and cephalopods): C4 (primary). Assessment flow The assessment flow for Descriptor 3 is shown in Figure 4. Further detail on these steps is provided below. Figure 4 Assessment flow for Descriptor 3 Step 1 – Determine elements for assessment The commercially-exploited species that should be included in the assessment include all those that are managed under the CFP (Reg (EU) No 1380/2013), and Reg (EC) No 1967/2006 for the Mediterranean, and nationally-important stocks. ICES (2014a) recommended that the list covers a very high proportion of the landings (e.g. >90%) in weight (or commercial value), and should be based on the longest-available time-series.
Descriptor 3: Commercially-Exploited Fish and Shellfish Descriptor 3: Populations of all commercially exploited fish and shellfish are within safe biological limits, exhibiting a population age and size distribution that is indicative of a healthy stock. The primary and secondary criteria for Descriptor 3, and their relationship to the indicators of 2010/477/EU are shown in Table 1. There are three aspects to Descriptor 5: Pressure: D3C1 relates to the level of fishing pressure on fish stocks, and D3C4 relates to the level of pressure of mortality on bycatch species; Status: D3C2 and D3C3 relate to the status of fish stocks. Table 1 Primary and secondary criteria for Descriptor 3 Primary criteria relating to: Secondary criteria relating to: 2010/477/EU criteria and indicators Pressure D3C1 Fishing mortality (F) 3.1.1 D3C4 Mortality of by-catch species – Status D3C2 Spawning stock biomass (SSB) 3.2.1 D3C3 Age and size distribution 3.3 Level of integration Criteria C1, C2 and C3 should be within threshold values. C4 does not have any threshold values defined but should contribute to the assessments of the relevant species under Descriptor 1. The envisaged level of integration across criteria is as follows: Commercially-exploited stocks: C1, C2 and C3 are primary and are integrated for each stock; By-catch (species of birds, mammals, reptiles and non-commercially-exploited species of fish and cephalopods): C4 (primary). Assessment flow The assessment flow for Descriptor 3 is shown in Figure 4. Further detail on these steps is provided below. Figure 4 Assessment flow for Descriptor 3 Step 1 – Determine elements for assessment The commercially-exploited species that should be included in the assessment include all those that are managed under the CFP (Reg (EU) No 1380/2013), and Reg (EC) No 1967/2006 for the Mediterranean, and nationally-important stocks. ICES (2014a) recommended that the list covers a very high proportion of the landings (e.g. >90%) in weight (or commercial value), and should be based on the longest-available time-series.