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ABSTRACT

The meeting to update the benchmark assessment on blackspot seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo) in the Strait of Gibraltar conducted under the Working Group on Stock Assessment of Demersal Species (WGSAD) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) was held online, from 5 to 7 May 2026. The objective of the meeting was to update the assessment using the benchmarked Stock Synthesis model and the updated data up to 2025 from Morocco and Spain, including catches, nominal and standardized catch per unit effort (CPUE) and length-frequency distributions. Updated information showed changes in size structure, sampling coverage and effort, with Morocco showing a higher proportion of larger fish and Spain reflecting a strong truncation below the minimum size. The group discussed methodological differences in CPUE standardisation, rescaled the standard error of both fleets, and excluded an anomalous 2022 Spanish CPUE value to improve model consistency without altering overall conclusions. The updated assessment confirmed that the stock remains depleted and overexploited, with biomass well below safe biological limits and fishing mortality above MSY levels, supporting continued advice to implement a recovery plan. The application of the harvest control rule adopted in Recommendation GFCM/48/2025/7 on the long-term management plan resulted in a catch advice of 4.21 tonnes for 2027.