Preliminary Tristan Group Biomass Survey Leg1 results including data from the 2014 season

This paper summarises key features of the results from the Leg 1 biomass surveys carried out since 2006 at each island in the Tristan group. Specifically the biomass index, catch distribution and female percentage trends have been considered. The index shows a slight overall downward trend for Inaccessible, which is also evident also for Tristan (but larger there) and for Gough (though there only for the more recent years). In contrast, there has been a sharp recent increase for Nightingale. There have been some changes over time in the size distribution, the most marked of which is a steady decrease in the mean length at Tristan. The percentage of females in the catch at Gough is about double that at the other islands.