Crew of the Resolute releasing their trawl. Photo: CatchPR

Atlanto Scandian herring season for Scottish fleet gets underway

UNITED KINGDOM
Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 04:00 (GMT + 9)

The Atlanto Scandian herring season for the Scottish fleet is now underway, with the quota this year marginally up by three per cent, although the UK has only two per cent of the overall total allowable catch (TAC), making it a very short fishery.

Around 10 Scottish and Shetland boats participate in the fishery off northern Norway, although numbers vary from year-to-year depending on the quota. Among the vessels heading to the northern grounds this year will be the Fraserburgh-registered Resolute co-skippered by Matty West and Ally West.

Map showing changes in distribution of Atlanto-Scandian herring. Adapted from International ecosystem surveys in the Nordic Seas 1995-2020. source: MSC

The Resolute only has a limited quota for Atlanto Scandian herring, which it will catch in one trip and then land into the Pelagia processing facility in Alesund.

Before heading to the fishing grounds, Ally West, who is also vice-chairman of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said: “We’ve worked for Atlanto-Scandian herring virtually every year since I can remember and the pattern of fishing has changed over that period.

“When we first started, boats fished from north Norway all the way south down to Alesund. We would wait until the main fishing activity was off Alesund and then head there to fish. The herring don't seem to come that far south anymore and we now fish further north off the Lofoten Islands.

“I don’t know whether this is down to environmental change, stock size or for some other reason, but pelagic fish do have a habit of changing their movement patterns over time and it is entirely possible they will move back south again in the future.”

A feature of Atlanto Scandian herring is their larger size compared to North Sea herring, and last year the Resolute caught good-sized fish weighing around 360 grams, which were probably around eight years old. The indications this year are that there are many more smaller fish about.

“This is a positive sign as it means there is good recruitment coming into the Atlanto Scandian herring stock, which bodes well for the future,” said Ally West.

The F/V Resolute and the West family stem crest detail. Photo courtesy VesselFinder

Atlanto Scandian herring can be challenging to catch when in deeper water because of the way the fish disperse, so the Resolute targets the fish off the Lofoten Islands when they are over shallow banks.

“The Norwegians tend to fish for Atlanto-Scandian herring within their 12-mile zone and we have encountered some huge shoals in these areas in recent years,” said Ally.

“It is unfortunate that the UK ended-up with a smaller allocation of Atlanto Scandian herring than it properly deserved during Brexit negotiations with the EU, and that should be changed in future years, but it is nonetheless still an important fishery for some boats in the Scottish pelagic fleet that fills a gap following the completion of the January mackerel fishery.”

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