Iceland’s Minister of Fisheries Kristján Thór Júlíusson has put aside a 31,316 tonne quota (23,764 cod-equivalent tonnes) for a variety of species purposes, and is also waiting for a working group’s conclusions on how this quota should be allocated.
The special purposes quota is 5.3% of the TAC, and is lower this year compared to the 2018-2019 special purposes quota of 32,380 tonnes. While the cod quota has been increased, quotas for other species have been reduced, notably for haddock, thereby reducing the volume held back for special purposes that have traditionally included regional quotas, quota support for longline fisheries, coastal fisheries, leisure fishing and a number of other measures to support regional economies.
This year’s reduced amount allocated to quota support for longline fisheries – reduced from 4855 to 3445 tonnes – reflects the takeup during the 2018-19 quota year.
‘The government allocates these quotas, It is my opinion that these high values could be allocated more efficiently than they currently are,’ Kristján Thór Júlíusson said.
‘I appointed a working group in May to examine the current arrangement and look forward to it concluding its work in November. I hope that the results of their work can be used to allocate these values in a better and more effective manner than they are now.’
