ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

The 5th Conference of the Parties of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA) took place this week in Brussels, Belgium and our General Secretary, Alan Haynie attended to represent ICES.

ICES has been an observer to CAOFA since 2022 and is pleased to continue this collaboration to advance understanding of this important and rapidly changing ecosystem.

CAOFA was signed in 2018 to prevent unregulated fishing in the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean before sufficient scientific knowledge is available to ensure any future fishing can be managed sustainably. Its goal is to protect the Central Arctic Ocean's marine ecosystems and ensure that fish populations remain healthy and sustainable for the future.
https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/caofa

Interested in knowing more about our collaborative work on the Central Arctic Ocean? Read about our Working Group on the Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of the Central Arctic Ocean (WGICA), a broad international collaboration that brings together scientists, knowledge, and results from ICES, PICES - North Pacific Marine Science Organization and the Arctic Council working group PAME https://www.ices.dk/news-and-events/news-archive/news/Pages/202511_CAOEO.aspx who recently published an integrated ecosystem assessment for the Central Arctic Ocean https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.30540437, as well as an Ecosystem overview https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30465446.

📷CAOFA Scientific Coordinating Group Chair Hauke Flores, CAOFA COP Chairperson Nadia Bouffard, and ICES General Secretary Alan Haynie.

Abstract submission is closing soon for the SEAtwins symposium 2026!

Join us on 2-5 November 2026 in Copenhagen to examine how Digital Twin technologies can support decision-making, scenario modelling, and policy development. The symposium will focus on the integration of social and ecological systems within marine and coastal environments.

Key themes include:
⏹️ Social-ecological modelling
⏹️ Digital Twin Oceans and EDITO
⏹️ Biodiversity and ecosystem assessment
⏹️ Marine protected areas
⏹️ Maritime spatial planning

Learn more and submit your abstract: https://aquainfra.eu/events/seatwins-symposium-2026-advancing-digital-twins-of-the-ocean

How can fish stock assessments and fisheries advice keep pace with a changing climate?

Register now for ​​ICES-MeCCAM Workshop on Fish biology, ecology and climate change (WKFISHECO) if you are interested in the intersection of fish ecology, climate change, and fisheries advice.

📅9-13 November 2026
📍ICES Headquarters, Copenhagen, Denmark
⏰Deadline to register is 3 July!

Along with the European Commission-funded project Measures for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in European Fisheries (MeCCAM), we will host a joint workshop to bridge the gap between fish biology, ecology and climate change and fish stock assessments, forecasts and advice.

⏰Register by Friday 3 July ℹ️https://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/WKFISHECO.aspx

ICES is committed to supporting early-career scientists.

Meet some of the individuals we have supported at Oceans Past XI this week. Welcome them to the community if you're at https://oceanspast.org/

Madison Bowden-Parry, University of Exeter & Institute Of Zoology, UK
🎤Investigating the history of Sussex kelp habitats & their impact on local communities
🗣️"The Oceans Past Initiative brings together researchers & practitioners in marine historical ecology from around the world. The conference provides an exciting opportunity to learn from & engage with those who are asking important questions about past human-ocean interactions & how the oceans' past can inform the future."

Arlin Rodriguez, Universidad Autonoma de Quintana Roo, México
🎤The life of a fish remembered: Groupers, memory and reef change in Cozumel
🗣️"My research focuses on small-scale fisheries in the Mexican Caribbean, where I explore how historical fisheries data & local ecological knowledge can help us better understand socio-ecological transformations & support more sustainable futures for coastal communities. Attending Oceans Past is an opportunity to learn from diverse perspectives, broaden my understanding of marine environmental history, & continue building bridges between memory, science, & ocean stewardship.

Meaghan Efford, Ph.D., University of British Columbia Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Canada
🎤Collaborative, transdisciplinary, & community-based archaeology & historical ecology in service of Tsleil-Waututh Nation
🗣️"It's rare to see a conference that really focuses on how ocean & coastal ecosystems change over time, & I'm really looking forward to presenting my research & a joint research project that I'm a part of, & to hearing from others. My work as an archaeologist & historical ecologist is in using a transdisciplinary approach to understanding relationships between people & place through millennia & working in collaboration with & in service of Indigenous communities. I'm excited to hear from others who have been doing work in this realm for a long time, & I'm interested in collaborating with folks on new projects."

Anna Guasco, Oregon State University, US
🎤Our West Coast Whale: Claiming, Contesting, & Belonging in More-than-Human Seas
🗣️"I'm attending Oceans Past because I'm an interdisciplinary ocean researcher, & I'm looking forward to meeting & learning with other interdisciplinary ocean researchers. As someone whose work doesn't fit neatly into any one box & crosses many fields (geography, anthropology, history, & political ecology), I'm so excited to participate in Oceans Past for the first time & to contribute to this exciting research community."

Hannah Kobluk, Simon Fraser University, Canada
🎤Restoring Balance: Revitalizing ancestral wisdom to support future relationships between clams, sea otters & people
🗣️"This is my first Oceans Past conference, & I'm really looking forward to connecting with a new group of people & learning from their work around the world!"

The Oceans Past Initiative hosts Oceans Past XI this week at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

We are proud to have supported early-career scientists to attend - meet some of them here!

Gwyn Chilcoat, University of California, Davis and Bodega Marine Lab
🗣️"I study molluscs, especially oysters of the northeast Pacific, across different timescales. I am partway through my PhD training and excited to hear different insights and interpretations of my preliminary data to inform my next steps. I'm also eager to bring my perspective from community-engaged conservation paleobiology to explore what more can be learned by looking farther into the past."

Jaime Ojeda, Universidad de Magallanes, Centro Internacional Cabo de Hornos (CHIC), Instituto Milenio Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Antárticos y Subantárticos (BASE)
🗣️"For over fifteen years, I have worked with artisanal fishing communities, documenting fishing huts, seabird-fisher interactions, and the long-term socio-ecological transformations of sub-Antarctic seascapes. Oceans Past has long been a key reference community for this work, and attending is a unique opportunity to bring a southern, sub-Antarctic perspective into the global conversation on the historical dimensions of marine social-ecological systems."

Leah Davis Rubin, SUNY - The State University of New Yorkw York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
🗣️"I'm excited to present two chapters of my dissertation, one which looks at shark dermal denticles in the sediment around a resort in Fiji and the other which looks at otoliths to understand age structure and growth of Atlantic cod from an archaeological site in the Gulf of Maine.
So many of the researchers whose work is the foundation for my own research are scheduled to speak - (cough cough the Daniel Pauly!), and I'm also so excited to learn from and build community with all of the other ECRs who will continue to shape the field."

Jannick Scheepstra, University of Groningen
🗣️" My research focuses on a highly modified coastal landscape in the Netherlands, one of the least nature-connected countries in Europe, which presents unique challenges when examining how people value and relate to marine ecosystems. I'm excited to learn how these relationships are understood and studied in different cultural and environmental contexts, and to see what lessons might apply to my own work. I'm also hoping to see some whales!"

Emily Martens-Oberwelland, Dalhousie University
🗣️"I am looking forward to hearing the excellent keynote speakers, learning about fascinating research on a multitude of diverse topics, and having the chance to exchange with and learn from this academic community. I am grateful to have the opportunity to present "Royal Fish, Sea Monsters, and the Great Leviathan: Humans and Whales in 17th Century England" and discuss this research."

ℹ️https://oceanspast.org/2026-opi-xi/

Early bird registration is open for Atlantic Plastics 2026!

Join us in Reykjavik, Iceland from 20–22 October for the Third International Symposium on Marine Plastic Pollution!

This symposium will address marine plastic pollution from the Arctic to the Antarctic, bringing together science, policy, industry, NGOs, students, and early-career researchers.

⏰Early bird registration is open until 15 July 2026.
For more information and registration ➡️https://atlanticplastics.is/

How do scientists estimate the status of fish stocks and provide advice for sustainable fisheries management?

These were some of the key questions explored during last week's Introduction to Stock Assessment course. Stock assessments are at the heart of ICES advice - and participants gained hands-on experience with population modelling, stock assessment methods, and the use of fisheries data to better understand fish populations and support evidence-based management decisions.

Thanks to Coby Needle and Colin Millar for leading the latest course.

We asked a few participants about their experience and how it relates to their own work

Margit Hindholm, DTU Aqua and Danmarks Pelagiske Producentorganisation
🗣️ "I joined the course to get a better understanding of forecasts, stock assessments, and the underlying work behind them. Working with fisheries, I come across stock assessments and biological advice a lot, and it's important that I understand how it is done, what the different thresholds mean and how reference points are calculated.
I look forward to applying my new understanding of the fundamentals of stock assessment and forecasting, and using fisheries-dependent and fisheries-independent data to assess fish stock status and evaluate trends in different fish stocks."

Karl Bentley, Marine Institute - Foras na Mara
🗣️"I mainly focus on collecting and processing fisheries data, but I’ve been wanting to learn more about what happens beyond that, especially the assessment process and the science behind the advice that comes out of it. The course felt like a really good opportunity for that, and to learn from people who are actively working in stock assessment.
One of the biggest benefits of the course was gaining a better understanding of how assessment outputs are interpreted and how different data sources contribute to the overall assessment process. I am particularly looking forward to applying this knowledge when working with fisheries data and engaging with stakeholders. The course has given me a better understanding of the wider assessment framework and how decisions around data quality and sampling can influence the information available for providing scientific advice."

🗣️Laurène MERILLET, CLS Group (Collecte Localisation Satellites)
I joined the Introduction to Stock Assessment course to improve my knowledge on the concepts of stock assessment. I am a marine ecosystem modeller, using and improving a spatial population dynamic model on a daily basis. The course has strengthened my knowledge of the data needed and the data provided by a stock assessment - this will enable me to better interface my model with this key tool of marine ecosystems management."

ℹ️Find one of our training courses for you https://www.ices.dk/events/Training/Pages/default.aspx

🚨Advice release

ICES advice to European Commission, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), Norway & United Kingdom on fishing opportunities in the Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, Icelandic Waters and Norwegian Sea ecoregions for the coming year(s) has been published today.

🌊Barents Sea https://ices-library.figshare.com/collections/ICES_Advice_2026/8317945?q=:category:barents

🌊Greenland Sea https://ices-library.figshare.com/collections/ICES_Advice_2026/8317945?q=:category:greenland

🌊Icelandic Waters https://ices-library.figshare.com/collections/ICES_Advice_2026/8317945?q=:category:icelandic

🌊Norwegian Sea https://ices-library.figshare.com/collections/ICES_Advice_2026/8317945?q=:category:norwegian

🐟 Atlantic wolffish in Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30931991

🐟 Beaked redfish in Southeast Greenland https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932309

🐟 Beaked redfish in Icelandic slope stock (East of Greenland, Iceland grounds) https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932312

🐟 Blue ling in East Greenland and Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30931961

🐟 Capelin in Iceland and Faroes grounds, East Greenland, Jan Mayen area https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30931994

🐟 Cod in Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932021

🐟 Cod in West Greenland (Inshore Spawning Cod) https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30931997

🐟 Cod in West Greenland (offshore spawning cod) https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932000

🐟 Cod in East Greenland-Iceland (offshore spawning cod)
https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932003

🐟 Cod in Norwegian Sea, southern Norwegian coastal cod
https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932003

🐟 Cod in Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea, northern Norwegian coastal cod https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932006

🐟 Golden redfish in Northeast Arctic https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932315

🐟 Golden redfish in Iceland and Faroes grounds, West of Scotland, North of Azores, East of Greenland https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932318

🐟 Greater silver smelt in East Greenland and Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30931955

🐟 Greenland halibut in Iceland and Faroes grounds, West of Scotland, North of Azores, East of Greenland https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932051

🐟 Haddock Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932060

🐟 Herring (summer-spawning herring) in Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932093

🐟 Ling in Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932138

🐟 Plaice in Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932267

🐟 Saithe in Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932294

🐟 Saithe in Northeast Arctic https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932288

🐟 Tusk in East Greenland, and Iceland grounds https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.30932444

ℹ️ All the latest ICES Advice online https://www.ices.dk/advice/pages/latest-advice.aspx