The ORHAGO cruises (Observation of the benthic aquatic resources of the GOlfe de Gascogne) are part of Ifremer's mission of observation and expertise in support of fisheries management. Their main aim is to obtain series of abundance indices for flatfish and in particular for sole. Consequently, the choice was made to adopt a beam trawl to comply with the standards of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for flatfish. This choice has made it possible to be part of the campaigns coordinated by ICES and thus to be a member of a community in which the methodology and results can be discussed each year in the ICES WGBEAM working groups. Since 2013, the ORHAGO campaigns have been used to assess the state of the Bay of Biscay sole stock. They allow this assessment to be carried out analytically, i.e. using a model to analyse and simulate the dynamics of the stock. The ORHAGO campaigns are also a source of information on the evolution of benthic populations and coastal benthic habitats in the Bay of Biscay.

The objective of the PELGAS cruise is to monitor distribution and abundance of pelagic species fished in the Bay of Biscay, using two direct evaluation methods: acoustics and spawning estimates. The cruise was conducted in coordination with France, Spain and Portugal, in the framework of the European council regulations (EC No 1543/2000 of 29 June 2000 and No 1639/2001 of 25 July 2001).