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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Working Group on Stock Assessment of Demersal Species (WGSAD) was held in Rome, Italy, in hybrid modality, from 9 to 14 December 2024. The main objectives of the meeting were to: i) review the consistency of procedures to provide advice; ii) review the assessment of demersal stocks; and iii) run a hands-on data session to deal with methodological issues. Out of the 65 assessments presented, 65 were validated. Four of the assessments were accomplished within the framework of the relevant expert working groups of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) of the European Commission. Of the 65 reviewed stocks, 40 (61.5 percent) were validated for providing quantitative advice. Twenty eight out of the 65 validated assessments adopted during the WGSAD meeting indicated sustainable or possibly sustainable stock exploitation. Following the exclusion of the three complementary European hake assessments, this corresponds to 45.5 percent of the stocks, which is more than double of the proportion observed in the previous year (22 percent). About two-third of the assessments indicating sustainable exploitation were referring to various red mullet and shrimp stocks.