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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 The Working Group on Stock Assessment of Small Pelagic Species (WGSASP) was held at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy, on 19–23 November 2018. The main objectives of this meeting were to: i) review the consistency of procedures to provide advice; ii) review the assessment of small pelagic stocks; and iii) run a hands-on data session to deal with methodological issues. The WGSASP reviewed 15 stock assessments. It provided validated quantitative advice for seven of them (sardine and anchovy in GSAs 06, 07 and 22, and sardine in GSA 16) and precautionary advice for three (anchovy and sardine in GSA 01, and sardine in GSA 03), while five assessments were considered preliminary (sardine in GSAs 01-03-04, anchovy in GSA 16 and round sardinella in GSAs 26 and 27 [Lebanon and Palestine]). Sardine stocks in GSAs 01 and 03 as well as anchovy in GSA 01 were considered uncertain while anchovy in GSA 06 and in GSA 22 were found to be sustainably exploited. All other stocks assessed were either in overexploitation (sardine in GSAs 06, 16 and 22) or ecologically unbalanced (sardine in GSA 07) or at a low biomass (anchovy in GSA 07). A dedicated session on sardinella in the eastern Mediterranean Sea was carried out, whose discussions on data limitations and data-limited methodologies were extremely useful and gave important insights for other stocks as well. Workplans were drafted for sardinella in the eastern Mediterranean and sardine in the Alboran Sea. The upcoming benchmark for sardine and anchovy in the Adriatic Sea (GSAs 17–18) was discussed in detail.