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ABSTRACT

The eleventh meeting of the Subregional Group on Stock Assessment for the Black Sea (SGSABS) was held in Burgas, Bulgaria, in hybrid modality, on 7–11 July 2025. 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; iii) update analytical assessments for turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), European sprat (Sprattus sprattus), Black Sea anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus ponticus), 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 seven stocks in the Black Sea: turbot, sprat, anchovy, horse mackerel, piked dogfish, whiting, red mullet, and rapa whelk. Qualitative precautionary advice was given for anchovy; more comprehensive quantitative advice was provided for turbot, sprat, piked dogfish, whiting and rapa whelk. The red mullet stock assessment was not validated for advice due to poor cohort consistency in the survey index.