The waters around Ireland contain some the most important spawning areas for north-east Atlantic fish stocks. Egg and Larval Surveys are a vital part of mapping these spawning areas and contribute to fisheries management decisions. Egg surveys can also give scientists an indication of the state of the spawning stock within a particular area by using what is called the Annual Egg Production (AEP) method. This method uses information on the number of eggs sampled in an area, and relates it to the number of eggs produced by female fish in the spawning season, to calculate the number of females spawned in the area. Funder: Marine Institute