After two years with no capelin fishery in the Barents Sea, Russian vessels have this year declared catches of 66,000 tonnes of capelin, a 30% increase on the last season’s total in 2015.
According to reports, there are still scattered marks of capelin to be seen, but these are not tight enough for trawlers to fish on, and the Norwegian fleet has also ended its Barents Sea capelin fishing for the year.
Observers from scientific body PINRO reported that their forecasts for the capelin migration were shown to be correct, and they expect a similar pattern to take place next year with no realistic possibility of forecasting fish behaviour for next season until later in the year.
At a meeting held at the conclusion of the capelin season with fishing skippers and Federal Fisheries Agency deputy head Vasily Sokolov, it was decided that next year PINRO is to work on the possibility of establishing a public-private partnership to provide the fleet next year with a research vessel.
