That’s the opinion on where 2016 Barents Sea quotas should be going, according to the ICES working group for Arctic stocks.
Although it is accepted that cod and haddock stocks are in an extremely healthy condition, the conclusion is also that they have passed their peak, according to Gjert Endre Dingsør. The advice is for cod quotas of 805,000 tonnes and haddock quotas of 233,000 tonnes. That’s a 10% cut in cod and a 5% cut in haddock, while the recommendation is for a 10,000 tonne increase in saithe to 150,000 tonnes.
Although cod stocks quotas are expected to remain high at between 700,000 and 800,000 tonnes for the next few years, the decline in the strength of cod stocks is believed to be due to slightly lower recruitment.
While cod and haddock remain healthy, the same does not appear to be true of redfish and coastal cod and there is a recommendation for a zero redfish TAC for the next three years, with further recommendations supported by the Institute of Marine Research to limit redfish by-catches in trawl fisheries, plus a requirement for a system of reporting for recreational fishing that also includes redfish. Measures to reduce fishing pressure on coastal cod are also called for.
