An initial investigation of the information content of sole catch-at-length distributions regarding recruitment trends

A simple analysis of sole catch-at-length distributional data is carried out to estimate recruitment trends, assuming that availability and mortality do not change over time. Although the information content of these data is limited, they do provide give some indication of a period of generally below average recruitments during the first decade of the century, suggesting justification for expanding to a statistical-catch-at-length (SCAL) assessment in due course.