WGSAM covers both model development and their integration into practical management advice. It defines standards for models to advise on the management implications of multispecies interaction, promotes research for understanding of how foodweb and fishery interactions influence one another, establishes best practice in multispecies assessment methods, and aligns its work with emerging policy.
The group comprises experts from different regions experienced in various modelling techniques – including age-structured, age- and length-structured, and foodweb models.
Collaboration takes place with the Working Group on Mixed Fisheries (WGMIXFISH), the Working Group on the Assessment of Demersal Stocks in the North Sea and Skagerrak (WGNSSK), the Herring Assessment Working Group for the Area South of 62° N (HAWG), and the ICES/NAFO/NAMMCO Working Group on Harp and Hooded Seals (WGHARP).