Outlook for fisheries in Murmansk-led North Basin in September 2008

The bulk of the cod and haddock quotas in the Barents Sea was covered by September 2008, therefore a limited fleet of no more than 50 vessels is expected to harvest bottomfish during the month, fishery sources in Murmansk told www.fishnet-russia.com (https://www.fishnet.ru/).

Taking into account the beginning stormy period and more dispersed condition of the concentrations, the catch rates on the cod and haddock grounds, and correspondingly the total harvest, must be 10% lower than in August 2008. However, in general the shipowners expect the fishery conditions to be satisfactory, or no worse than in 2007. The bulk of the cod stock is forecasted to spread in the Russian zone, in the enclave and in the waters of Spitsbergen. According to the conditions of the stock's distribution on the grounds, nearly all the haddock is expected to occur in the Russian waters. In the sea's northwest the fishermen are forecasted to harvest up to 15% of larger haddock to the west of the Bear Island.

Abundant red king crab fishery in the southeast part of the sea can be started in the closing ten days of September when the meat content should reach 80% on the average, thus meeting the current standards of the US market.

The shrimp fishery in September 2008 will hardly grow brisker. The most efficient period for the shrimp fishery in the Barents Sea is coming to an end.

In the Norwegian Sea nearly all the fleet is expected to focus on herring with most of the concentrations to be located already in the Norwegian EEZ to the south of the Bear Island. The fishery conditions were expected to be fairly satisfactory.

A small fleet was going to start harvesting pelagic ocean perch in the international waters of the Norwegian Sea. In November 2007 NEAFC approved the TAC 2008 of the pelagic perch in the open part of the Norwegian Sea at 14,500 tonnes, including 5% harvested on the grounds of other species. The TAC was 1000 tonnes lower than in 2007. In the NEAFC waters international fishermen were permitted to harvest the species under the Olympic system, with the fishery allowed from 1 September 2008 to 15 November 2008 until complete exhaustion of the quota. Only those vessels who conducted ocean perch fishery in the area before 2007 were admitted to the grounds in 2008.

The conditions for ocean perch fishery in the waters to the south of Greenland are forecasted to be non-stable. According to provisional plans, up to 5 vessels based in Murmansk and Kaliningrad may continue targeting the species in the area. Separate vessels may conduct deepsea fishery of black halibut in the West Greenland out of the quota remainder. The fishery conditions at the depths of more than 1000 meters are forecasted to be satisfactory. The Russian halibut quota in the NAFO zone has been covered, and single vessels may conduct limited fishery of other species (ocean perch for instance).