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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The tenth meeting of the Subregional Group on Stock Assessment for the Black Sea (SGSABS) was held in Trabzon, Türkiye, in hybrid modality, on 8–13 July 2024. The key objectives of the meeting were to: i) review the status of the main fish stocks in the Black Sea; ii) review the existing data and assessment methods for the main stocks in the area; and iii) update analytical assessments for turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), red mullet (Mullus barbatus), whiting (Merlangius merlangus), horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus ponticus), piked dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and rapa whelk (Rapana venosa); and iv) provide advice on stock status and research priorities to improve knowledge on the status of the stocks. Advice was provided on the status of six stocks in the Black Sea: turbot, horse mackerel, piked dogfish, whiting, red mullet, and rapa whelk. Qualitative precautionary advice was given for horse mackerel; more comprehensive quantitative advice was provided for turbot, red mullet, piked dogfish, whiting and rapa whelk. Management strategy evaluation (MSE) has been implemented in the Black Sea in the case of rapa whelk to evaluate the management performance arising from various survey designs. The evaluation was implemented, considering spring and autumn surveys independently or in combination, over annual or larger time intervals. Black Sea anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus ponticus) and European sprat (Sprattus sprattus) were analyzed at a different benchmark session held on 1–5 July 2024.