Comparative analysis of commercial capture quotas in the Russian Far East Basin in 2009

As of 2009 the fishery industry has started working under new regulations, including 10-year quota shares, mandatory customs clearance of EEZ's catches in Russian ports, while other important developments include division of the commercial species into TAC-regulated and non-TAC-regulated, reports www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru) with reference to fishery sources in Vladivostok.

Capture (catch) of aquatic biological resources which are specified as objects of fishery and not regulated by the TAC will be carried out in 2009 under agreements for exploitation of aquatic biological resources to be made between users and the Federal Fisheries Agency. Such species include:

• Flounders of the West Bering Sea zone, Karaginsk subarea, North and South Kuriles, Sea of Okhotsk (except for West Kamchatka subarea) and the Sea of Japan;
• Grenadier of the West Bering Sea zone, Karaginsk subarea, North and South Kuriles, North Okhotsk subarea, West Kamchatka subarea and Kamchatka Kurile subarea of the Sea of Okhotsk;
• Wachna cod of the West Bering Sea zone, East Kamchatka zone, Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan;
• Magister squid of the West Bering Sea zone and Karaginsk subarea, as well as all squid species of the South Kuriles;
• Triangle tanner crab and whelks of the West Bering Sea zone;
• Sea urchins of the Petropavlosk-Komandor subarea;
• Skates of the Sea of Okhotsk;
• Some other species.

For the current year 2009 the Federal Fisheries Agency has distributed offshore capture quotas by fishing areas between the users of the Russian Far East Basin according to order No.447 dated 22 December 2009. The total volume of the offshore quotas in the current year 2009 has been reduced by 130,900 metric tons on the respective volume of 2008 because some species are no longer on quota. However, considering the species specified as quota regulated by the order in 2009, the total quotas rose by 190,000 metric tons, despite the fact that several species have been removed from the list of commercial quotas (wachna cod, grenadier, longfin codling Laemonema, capelin, sandeel, black cod, red king crab).

Such species as pollock, cod and Atka mackerel in the Petropavlosk-Komandor subarea (East Kamchatka zone) in 2008 were allocated for inshore fishery to onshore companies of Kamchatka. In the current year 2009 the fishermen will be allowed to harvest ca.8000 tonnes of cod in that subarea, 19,100 tonnes of pollock and 12,900 tonnes of Atka mackerel in the offshore waters.

As compared to 2008 in the EEZ of the Russian Far East the capture quotas have been increased for such species as pollock by 73,500 tonnes to boost quotas in the Sea of Okhotsk (namely 809,200 tonnes versus 632,500 tonnes in 2008), North Kuriles (plus 12,600 tonnes) and Petropavlovsk-Komandor subarea (plus 19,100 tonnes). According to the estimated pollock abundance in the South Kuriles, in 2009 the fishermen will be allowed to harvest 20,400 tonnes.

In the Sea of Okhotsk the overall allowable catch volumes have been increased by 176,700 tonnes. At the shores of East Sakhalin it has been allowed to harvest 9200 tonnes more than in 2008. In the south of West Kamchatka in the Kamchatka Kurile subarea pollock quotas have been increased by 68,300 tonnes as compared to 2008. The largest rises of pollock quotas on 2008 have been approved for the North Okhotsk subarea (284,700 tonnes in 2009 versus 196,300 tonnes). At the same time, the fishermen will get smaller pollock quotas (namely 155,300 tonnes down) in the West Bering Sea zone and in the Karaginsk subarea. As a result, the capture quotas allocated to Vladivostok-based fishermen have been reduced by 55,300 tonnes in the West Bering Sea zone and Sakhalin fishermen will have to harvest nearly 30,000 tonnes less pollock in the area. However, due to a considerable increase of pollock quotas in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2009 Vladivostok fishermen have been allowed to harvest 25,000 tonnes more than in 2008 in all the fishing areas. As for other regions, Khabarovsk fishermen will be able to increase their pollock catches by 9200 tonnes, Sakhalin fishermen by 23,000 tonnes and Kamchatka fishermen by 21,500 tonnes.

Table: Comparative analysis of offshore pollock quotas by fishing areas and regions (see the table in the March issue of the Russian Fish Report)

In all the areas the herring quotas have been increased. In particular, the quotas of Okhotsk herring have been boosted by 72,300 tonnes on 2008.

Cod quotas have been increased by 10,000 tonnes, mostly resulting from larger quotas in the Petropavlovsk-Komandor subarea (+ca.8000 tonnes), the Sea of Okhotsk (+4400 tonnes) against simultaneous reduction of quotas in the West Bering Sea zone and Karaginsk subarea (-2400 tonnes).

In many fishing areas flounder quotas have been withdrawn from commercial exploitation. However, the decision has not resulted into a decrease of flounder capture quotas in 2009, because the fishermen have been allowed to conduct dedicated flounder fishery in the Kamchatka-Kurile subarea with the total quotas therefore rising by 7400 tonnes on 2008.

The saury quotas in the South Kuriles have been increased by 5600 tonnes. In the current year 2009 the fishermen of the Russian Far East Basin have been allowed to harvest ca.29,000 tonnes of anchovies in the South Kuriles and in the Sea of Japan (for comparison, in 2008 the offshore quotas of the species in the area have not been allocated for commercial exploitation at all). In the same areas the fishermen will be able to harvest 1800 tonnes of skates.

As for other aquatic biological resources the offshore quotas have been increased for golden king crab in the Sea of Okhotsk by 650 tonnes and snow crab opilio by 1750 tonnes, while the reductions have been approved only for the West Bering Sea zone by 200 tonnes, red snow crab by nearly 2500 tonnes in the Primorye subarea. At the same time, the fishermen have received smaller quotas of blue king crab shrinking by 1300 tonnes, snow crab bairdi by 1150 tonnes and triangle tanner crab by 1160 tonnes.

In 2009 the Basin's fishermen have received decreased quotas of squid in the Primorye subarea, namely 37,000 tonnes down on 2008. The quotas for capture of shrimp Pandalus goniurus in the Sea of Okhotsk and the West Bering Sea zone have been increased by 1900 tonnes.

As for offshore quotas broken down by fishing areas, the largest decrease of 138,600 tonnes on 2008 has been recorded for the West Bering Sea zone (at the expense of cod by 1700 tonnes, pollock by 135,300 tonnes, halibut by 960 tonnes, crabs and goniurus shrimp by 500 tonnes each). The capture quotas in the Primorye subarea of the Sea of Japan have been reduced by 24,200 tonnes (mostly squid), while the decrease have been also approved for the Karaginsk subarea, where the quotas have been all in all reduced by 17,000 tonnes, mostly due to smaller quotas of pollock (-13,500 tonnes) and cod (-1700 tonnes).