Advice and Scenarios Database



Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in divisions 4.b-c, 7.a, and 7.d-h (central and southern North Sea, Irish Sea, English Channel, Bristol Channel, and Celtic Sea)
StockCode (Assessment Component)
bss.27.4bc7ad-h
Assessment Year
2025
Stock Category
1
Purpose
Advice
Published
Stock Assessment Key
20911
Link to Advice Sheet
https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.27202527






Catch scenarios


Basis
Total removals *
Commercial landings**
Recreational kept**
Commercial discards**
Recreational dead released**
Survival recreational released**
Fages 4–15 total removals *
Fages 4–15 commercial catch
Fages 4–15 recreational removals
Spawning-stock biomass (SSB)
% SSB change^
% advice change^^
2026 2026 2026 2026 2026 2026 2026 2026 2026 2027 2027 2027
(t) (t) (t) (t) (t) (t) (ratio) (ratio) (ratio) (t) (%) (%)
ICES Basis Advice
Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach: F = FMSY 5180 1821 2302 781 276 5524 0.17 0.086 0.085 23154 -8.6 98
Other scenarios
F = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27544 8.7 -100
EU MAP#: FMSY 5180 1821 2302 781 276 5524 0.17 0.086 0.085 23154 -8.6 98
EU MAP#: FMSYlower 4472 1573 1988 672 239 4772 0.145 0.073 0.072 23751 -6.2 71
EU MAP#: FMSYupper 5180 1821 2302 781 276 5524 0.17 0.086 0.085 23154 -8.6 98
F = FPA 5180 1821 2302 781 276 5524 0.17 0.086 0.085 23154 -8.6 98
SSB2027 = Blim 14250 4956 6288 2252 755 15090 0.56 0.28 0.28 15666 -38 440
SSB2027 = MSYBtrigger = Bpa 9757 3413 4321 1504 519 10371 0.35 0.176 0.173 19339 -24 270
SSB2027 = SSB2026 2603 917 1159 388 139 2781 0.082 0.041 0.041 25330 0 -0.66
F = F2025 3271 1152 1455 489 175 3493 0.104 0.053 0.052 24764 -2.2 25
Total removals advice (2026) = total removals advice (2025) 2620 923 1166 391 140 2799 0.082 0.041 0.041 25317 -0.054 -0.038




Symbol Footnotes
* Includes commercial landings, recreational kept, commercial discards, and recreational dead released computed assuming 5% post-release mortality.
** Assumed projections based on recent proportions (2022–2024) of partial F of commercial and recreational removals.
# EU multiannual plan (MAP; EU, 2019).
## All catch options for sea bass caught in divisions 4.b–c, 7.a, and 7.d–h assume that total removals for sea bass in divisions 8.a–b follow the MSY approach.
### ICES cannot advise on measures to achieve non-zero catches in the area with F=0 for the stock.
^ SSB 2027 relative to SSB 2026.
^^ Advice value for 2026 relative to the advice value for 2025 for sea bass in divisions 4.b–c, 7.a, and 7.d–h stock (2620 tonnes).
^^^ Percentage change not shown as no advice was issued for all sea bass caught in 4.b–c, 7.a, and 7.d–h in 2024.