Commission welcomes agreement reached on sustainable management of redfish in the Irminger Sea (NE Atlantic)

After more than a decade of ineffective measures to ensure the sustainability of the redfish fisheries in the Irminger Sea (waters between Iceland and Greenland in the NEAFC Convention Area), the Coastal States (Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland) along with the European Union and Norway reached agreement in Reykjavik on 17 March on multi-annual interim conservation and management measures for deep and shallow pelagic redfish in the Irminger Sea, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to EC. These measures, based on an EU proposal, will be applied with immediate effect.

In accordance with the ICES advice, there will be no fishing on the shallow pelagic redfish at this juncture. In regard to the deep-water redfish stock, it was agreed that the TAC for 2011 should be reduced to 38,000 tonnes. Thereafter, there will be a progressive reduction from the 2011 fishing level, so that by 2014, catch levels would be at 20,000 tonnes in line with scientific advice.

To bring about a more coherent approach, the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) will also establish a long-term management plan for both stocks of redfish in the area, including appropriate harvest control rules.