Barents Sea cod vessel. (Photo: MSC)
Norway and Russia agree to reduce cod capture in the Barents Sea
NORWAY
Friday, October 19, 2018, 02:40 (GMT + 9)
Norway and Russia have reached an agreement on Barents Sea fishery quotas for 2019, which sets a decline of about 7 per cent for cod catch from last year.
Through the deal, the total quota for northeast arctic cod for 2019 was set at 725,000 tonnes, representing a decline from 775,000 tonnes in 2018, the Norwegian Fisheries Ministry reported.
Norway’s cod quota for 2019 will be 328,697 tonnes, including 21,000 tonnes of coastal cod and an allocation of 7,000 tonnes for research purposes.
According to Norwegian Fisheries Minister Harald T. Nesvik, this agreement will allow both countries to continue to harvest their joint fisheries in the Barents Sea in a sustainable way, The Independent Barents Observer informed.
Cod is the main catch in the Barents Sea and quotas for several years grew rapidly to a historical high of one million tons in 2013. Since then, marine researchers have seen a reduction in the stocks and consequently called for cuts.
The Barents fisheries will in 2019 also have reduced quotas on haddock, to 172,000 tons, down from more than 200,000 tons in 2018.
Capelin catch will be put on halt, since researchers during this year’s marine research expeditions saw a decline in stock and consequently recommended a stop in quotas.
In 2018, fisheries have been allowed to catch 205,000 tons of capelin, whose stocks have yo-yoed over the last decades with four major downturns since the mid-1980s. The last stock collapse came in 2015-2016.
The Norwegian-Russian fisheries cooperation is based on joint research activities and subsequent joint quota recommendations, which are discussed at the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fishery Commission, the key annual fisheries meeting between the two countries.
In this year’s meeting, the two sides also decided that they jointly will engage in activities to combat microplastic pollution.
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