Progress of Russian fisheries in the North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic in January-July 2021

During July, the catch of the Russian fishing fleet amounted to 123.7 thousand metric tons in the Atlantic Ocean and the South Pacific to display an increase of 17.8 thousand tons compared to June. It should be also noted that since the start of the year to July the cod catch has considerably increased, reports Megafishnet.com.

In the Barents Sea, up to 68 medium-tonnage and up to 32 small-tonnage vessels based in Murmansk, as well as 1 vessel of Kaliningrad, conducted the bottom trawl fishery. In July the main fishing took place in the Russian EEZ (52% of the monthly catch in this fishery) and Spitsbergen (Svalbard) with 47%. In the Norwegian EEZ there was nearly no fishery (1%).

• the harvest in the Russian EEZ in July amounted to 24.9 thousand tons of fish (-15,3 kt), of which cod contributed 18.4 thousand tons, haddock – 5.4 thousand tons, catfish – 0,5 kt, flounder – 0.4 thousand tons, fish of other species stood at 0.2 kt;

• in the Svalbard zone the fishermen caught 22.8 thousand tons of fish (+16.9 thousand tons), including cod with 21.5 thousand tons, haddock with 0,6 kt, catfish with 0.4 thousand tons, other bottom fish with 0.3 thousand tons;

• in the Norwegian EEZ during the reviewed month the fishermen harvested only 0.5 thousand tons of fish ( -1.5 kt), including cod with 84 %, haddock with 10 %, catfish with 4 %, bottom fish of other species with 2 %.

Flounder

Specialized flounder fishing in the inshore part of Russia’s Barents Sea zone was conducted by 14 trawlers (5 medium-tonnage and 9 small-tonnage) from Murmansk. In total, 1135 tons of fish were caught during July (+773 tons), the share of flounder was 80%. Since the beginning of the year, the flounder catch amounted to 6056 tons, including 3842 tons of sea flounder. The recommended catch of sea flounder is set at 7241.2 tons.

Redfish

The redfish operations in the Barents Sea were carried out by 2 vessels from Kaliningrad and 4 vessels from Murmansk. The fishing situation was unstable, but generally satisfactory. In July, 2.1 thousand tons of fish were harvested (+0.2 thousand tons), including the redfish with 90%. Since the beginning of the year, 10479 tons of ocean perch have been caught, of which 7124 tons were caught in a dedicated fishery. Russia's redfish quota in 2021 amounts to 13908 tons. An additional 2200 tons can be harvested as by-catch when fishing for other species.

Longline fishery

Bottom species longline fishery in the Barents Sea was conducted by 11 vessels operating from Murmansk and 1 vessel from St. Petersburg. The longliners worked mainly in the Russian zone (58 % of the catch during July for this type of fishing), somewhat less actively in the Svalbard area (40 %) and least actively in the Norwegian zone (2%). The longline catch in July amounted to 2.4 thousand tons of fish (-0.8 thousand tons), including cod with 61 %, catfish with 29 %, haddock, halibut and skate with 3% each, other fish with 1%.

Cod and haddock totals

Since the beginning of the year, 241.6 thousand tons of cod have been harvested in the Barents Sea (the quota balance is 37.4%) and 52.1 thousand tons of haddock (the quota balance is 50.1%). Last year, as per the date, 220.0 thousand tons of cod and 51.3 thousand tons of haddock were caught.

Shrimp

According to reports from the grounds, 8 trawlers from Murmansk, 1 trawler from St. Petersburg and 2 trawlers from the Russian Far East took part in the shrimp fishery in Russia’s Barents Sea zone. The fishing situation was generally favorable. The catch for the past month amounted to 2335 tons (+277 tons). Since the beginning of fishing, the Russian fleet has caught 9886 tons of shrimp. In 2020, during the same period, 15068 tons of this species were caught.

Snow crab opilio

Trap fishing for the snow crab opilio in the Barents Sea was carried out by 1 trawler from Murmansk (July 1 and 2) and 1 trawler from the Russian Far East (from July 1 to July 18). In July, 126 tons of this species of crab were caught (-2852 tons). Since the beginning of the fishery, the catch has amounted to 12966 tons versus the TAC of 13250 tons. In 2020, to July 30, the fishermen caught 10,377 tons.

Mackerel and blue whiting

In July 25 Russian trawlers (including 13 vessels from Kaliningrad and 12 vessels from Murmansk) conducted the mackerel fishery in the open part of the Norwegian Sea. The fishing situation was unstable. During the reviewed period, the Russian catch amounted to 45.6 thousand tons, including mackerel with 93% (42.3 thousand tons), blue whiting with 7%. Since the beginning of fishing, 52.6 thousand tons of mackerel have been caught in this area, (43 % of the Russian quota of 122.4 thousand tons). Last year, in July, the corresponding mackerel catch amounted to 46.1 thousand tons.

In the same area, during the second decade of July, one trawler from Murmansk was fishing for blue whiting. During July 11-20, the vessel caught 528 tons of this species. In the third decade, the ship switched to the mackerel fishery. Since the beginning of the year, 58.1 thousand tons of blue whiting have been harvested in the NEAFC area versus the quota of 78.3 thousand tons. To July 31, 2020, the catch of blue whiting in this area amounted to 69.1 thousand tons.

In the fishing zone of the Faroe Islands, the mackerel fishery started on July 11. At the beginning, the situation was weak and unstable. At the end of the month, it began to improve. The fishing area was gradually filled by vessels crossing from the open part of the Norwegian Sea (8 trawlers from Kaliningrad and 9 trawlers from Murmansk). They caught 7.5 thousand tons, of which 89 % (6.6 thousand tons) of mackerel. The bycatch of blue whiting accounted for 7 %, while that of herring amounted to 4 %. Russia's mackerel quota in this area is set at 14.5 thousand tons. In 2020, as per the end of July, 9.5 thousand tons of mackerel were harvested in the fishing zone of the Faroe Islands.

Redfish

In the Irminger Sea (NEAFC regulatory area), 2 Kaliningrad trawlers remained in the ocean perch fishery in July. On July 24, they completed their work as the quotas were exhausted. In total, 1.3 thousand tons of the redfish (-7.8 thousand tons) were harvested during the reviewed period. Since the beginning of the fishery 21.8 thousand tons of redfish have been caught versus the Russian quota of 24.9 thousand tons. To July 31, 2020, about 18.5 thousand tons of this species were caught.

Halibut

In the zone of Eastern Greenland, one Kaliningrad-based vessel was engaged in halibut harvesting. In total, 195 tons of fish were caught in July (+108 tons), the share of halibut accounting for 96 % with the bycatch of redfish reported at 4 %. Since the beginning of the fishery, the halibut catch has amounted to 247 tons versus the Russian quota of 550 tons. In 2020, as per the corresponding date, 220 tons of halibut were caught.

In the zone of Western Greenland, from 05 to 17 July, halibut fishing was carried out by 1 vessel from Murmansk. During these days, 166 tons of halibut were caught (the quota of the Russian Federation amounts to 1450 tons).

In the North-Western Atlantic in the area of NAFO regulation, until the beginning of the third decade of July, 2 trawlers from Murmansk carried out ocean perch fishing. The total catch of the two vessels was 0.9 thousand tons of fish (+0.2 thousand tons), including redfish with 97 % and halibut with 3 %.

Morocco

On July 27, the RTMKSm "Alexander Mironenko" from Murmansk started pelagic fishing off Morocco. By the end of the month, 2 more Russian vessels joined the operations. By the end of July, these trawlers harvested about 0.9 thousand tons of raw materials, including horse mackerel with 82 %, mackerel with 17 %, others with 1 %. In the second half of 2020, Russian vessels did not fish in the fishing zone of Morocco.

Mauritania

In the Mauritanian EEZ, one trawler from Kaliningrad, 2 trawlers from Murmansk and 2 trawlers from the Russian Far East worked on the same type of fishing during July. The fishing situation was generally weak and unstable. The monthly catch was 4.7 thousand tons of fish (-5.7 thousand tons), of which horse mackerel accounted for 55 %, mackerel-27 %, sardine-1 %, sardinella-3 %, other species -14 %. The Russian catch since the beginning of the year amounted to 38.9 thousand tons. In 2020, as per the end of July, 56.3 thousand tons of fish were caught in this area.

The trawler "Admiral Shabalin" of PJSC " MTF " was fishing for horse mackerel in the South Eastern Pacific area with a break for unloading. During the periods of the vessel's operation (the first and third decades of July), the fishing situation remained good. Over July, a catch of about 4.3 thousand tons of fish was made (+0.6 thousand tons). The share of horse mackerel accounted for 87%, mackerel-13%. Since the beginning of the year, 13.1 thousand tons of fish have been harvested, including horse mackerel with 65 %.

Russian catch of the main species in the Atlantic Ocean, according to operational data, for January-July 2020-2021 in metric tons

Notes.:

* The Russian halibut quota includes 2000MT for bycatch.

** The Russian redfish quota includes 2200MT for bycatch.

*** The Russian herring quota includes 3000MT for bycatch.

**** TAC for all member-countries amounts to 8448 metric tons.