Final Report NESPMAN: improving the knowledge of the biology and the fisheries of the new species for management

The NESPMAN (New Species for Management) project is meant to improve the knowledge of the biology and the fisheries of the new species for management. Apart from highly priced turbot, brill, striped red mullet and sea bass, these 12 species comprise also 3 gurnard species and 4 flatfishes. This report presents information for these 12 species that are becoming increasingly important for fisheries in NW Europe, partly due to the generally poor state of some of the main commercial fish species. The information presented in this report is based on analyses of data from research vessel surveys, landings statistics, data from on board observers, market sampling programmes and from biological sampling. Some economical analyses have been carried out as well. Through this project a better insight is gained in aspects such as distribution of the species, length- and sometimes age-composition of the catches, growth and maturity, ageing, stock ID etc.