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ABSTRACT

The Working Group on Stock Assessment of Small Pelagic Species (WGSASP) was held at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy, in hybrid modality, on 8–13 December 2025. The main objectives of the 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 improve the stock assessments. Within the joint session with the Working Group on Stock Assessment of Demersal Species (WGSAD), the working group discussed the proposed revisions to the different tools available to the Working Groups on Stock Assessments (WGSAs) to collect input data and report assessment outputs and agreed on the new Stock Assessment Form and the updated STAR template. The working group also noted and agreed that the advice may have to be adapted to reflect the management implications of the assessments’ output and the levels of uncertainty. The WGSASP reviewed 26 stock assessments. Validated advice was provided for 25 of these stocks, 17 of which were provided with quantitative advice and eight with qualitative advice. One assessment was considered preliminary. Two additional stocks, sardine and anchovy in GSAs 17 and 18, which were updated in the WGSASP session in the Adriatic Sea in May were presented. Out of the 25 validated assessments, 14 indicated sustainable exploitation; seven stocks were considered overexploitation. Based on the assessments of 14 validated quantitative advice, 79 percent of stocks were found under sustainable exploitation based on fishing mortality. On a species level, anchovy stocks other than GSAs 17 and 18 were found sustainably exploited, while sardine stocks showed comparable percentages of sustainable and overexploited stocks.