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Explaining the advice

Advice requesters, Advisory Council representatives, and observers gather in Copenhagen.
Published: 22 January 2020

​​Each January, decision-makers and policy developers from governments and intergovernmental organizations that request ICES advice, along with Advisory Council representatives and stakeholders travel to our Headquarters in Copenhagen to gain a unique insight into our advice process. 

Our advisory programme provides those in attendance with the most up-to-date information on issues such as bycatch, ecosystem advice, MSY advice, mixed fisheries, and working with commercially collected data & stakeholder information, while also discussing data quality control and advice quality assurance. The meetings, known as MIRIA and MIACO, also provides the opportunity to explore common challenges and address issues of concern

New advisory plan

MIRIA and MIACO participants were presented with the recently launched ICES Advisory Plan. Mark Dickey-Collas, Chair of ICES Advisory Committee (ACOM), explained that, “The plan challenges us to maximize the use of our science and data to deliver more credible and transparent advice in an iterative partnership with clients and stakeholders". 

Both the requesters and stakeholders highlighted ​the importance of ensuring​ the quality of the advice for the next few years. Fisheries management especially has transitioned from emphasizing reductions in fishing mortality to reaching targets for fishing and population status.  Embedding new innovations and evolving the advice in response to the increasing complexity of marine management was also seen as ​crucial. 

New MoU with Iceland

The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iceland and ICES was recognized at the meeting. Jóhann Guðmundsson, Director General of the Icelandic Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, stated that, “Iceland is very pleased with the MoU as it further formalizes our…commitment to ICES. The MoU will without doubt deepen the cooperation and relation between Iceland and ICES in the future."

An observer'​s view

Sciaena has been an official ICES observer since 2015. ​Gonçalo Carvalho explained how their interactions with ICES contributes towards their work. "We are regular users of ICES advice and Sciaena's work on fisheries, to a large extent, is based on it. We have participated in expert groups (WKPELA and WKSARMP) and have also interacted with many ICES researchers through the years, often in the context of the Pelagic Advisory Council. In 2018, together with ICES and the Portuguese Marine Research Institution (IPMA), we co-hosted in Lisbon a workshop where we explained ICES - structure, advisory process, etc. - to a diverse audience of fisheries stakeholders."

"The MIRIA and MIACO meetings were very positive. ICES has been making it's advice process more and more clear to stakeholders, and in these meetings that was absolutely the case. I think there has also been made significant progress on the way ICES takes the stakeholders inputs and concerns into account, and last week's meetings were especially successful in generating an open dialogue on how that interaction can improve in the future."

Read more about how to join the advisory process as an observer.​​​


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​P​articipants at the Annual Meeting of ICES, Advisory Councils, and other Observers in Copenhagen.

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Explaining the advice

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) · Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer (CIEM)
ICES Secretariat · H. C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, DK 1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark · Tel: +45 3338 6700 · Fax: +45 3393 4215 · [email protected]
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