ICES has provided its advice to the European Commission (EC) to set the fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2019. Despite fishermen’s full compliance with the quotas proposed, a growing stock biomass and fishing pressure in line with scientific advice, the prospects for some stocks are not promising – including herring.
ICES has issued a recommendation for next year’s North Sea herring quota to be set at 311,572 tonnes, roughly half of this year’s 600,588 tonne quota.
The certification renewal by the Marine Stewardship Council of Atlanto-Scandian herring has been confirmed.
Norwegian herring exports for April are up compared to the same period last year, with values slightly down, while both values and volumes for mackerel have fallen – but the market in south Korea is showing a keen interest in mackerel form Norway.
A pioneering, multi-partner international scientific survey to assess the status and composition of herring stocks to the west of Scotland has found that the area to the west of Melvaig, Wester Ross, holds some importance as a winter/spring spawning ground for herring.
Following a bad-tempered falling-out at the end of last year over reciprocal access to fishing grounds, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have come to an agreement for access in 2018 to Atlanto-Scandian herring, blue whiting and other fish stocks.
Iceland’s minister of fisheries and agriculture Kristján Thór Júlíusson has taken the decision to exclude Faroese fishing vessels from Icelandic waters in 2018, just as the Faroe Islands warned Iceland its vessels would not have access to blue whiting in the Faroese zone unless concessions were made.
With the 2018 almost upon us and people turning their thoughts towards healthy eating New year’s resolutions, Scottish fishermen and processors say now is the perfect time for consumers to put nutritious mackerel and herring onto their weekly menus.
A new short video has been produced highlighting the collaborative approach between fishermen and scientists in their innovative survey to assess the status and composition of herring stocks to the West of Scotland.
ICES has published its advice for the Barents Sea capelin quota for 2018, while the initial advice for the 2017-18 capelin fishery in Icelandic waters has also been made public. ICES has also corrected an error in its herring advice, revising downwards its recommendations for both this and next year.