The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) has advised a 50,000 tonne preliminary sandeel quota for this year. The advice applies to the Norwegian EEZ and will be updated in May.
The 2017 advice is an increase on last year’s initial 10,000 tonne recommendation, later revised upwards to 40,000 tonnes.
According to IMR, the latest advice is based on management models for sandeel and the recommendations are for areas 1b, 1c, 2b, 2c, 3c, 3b and 4a to be opened for fishing sandeel between 15th April and 23rd June.
The revision will be based on acoustic sampling in May and the results can be expected on the 15th of May.
Scraper sampling that began 2014 indicates that the 2016 year class is a strong one, but due to uncertainty over the precision of this sampling, it was decided not to take this fully into account in setting this year’s provisional advice.
According to IMR, acoustic sampling last year showed a weak 2015 year class, so the strength of the 2016 year class is a positive development. The spawning biomass in southern areas appears to be strong while sandeel populations further north, including on the Viking Bank, are weaker.
