Overview of Russia's fisheries in Northwest Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic as per mid-December 2010

The share of fish harvested by the vessels based in the Russian West Fisheries Basin (capital Kaliningrad) amounted to 28%. Fishing vessels worked mostly in the following five areas:

• 1) The Barents Sea, cod and haddock with bycatch of demersal species, red king crab. Cod and haddock harvest through the week under analysis rose to 2900 tonnes (+300 tonnes) and 2200 tonnes (+1100 tonnes) correspondingly. The harvest of red king crab continued slowly declining to 24 tonnes (-15 tonnes).
• 2) The Norwegian Sea, herring fishery in the northwest of the Norwegian EEZ was almost closed with the total landings through the week amounting to only 100 tonnes (-1500 tonnes).
• 3) The blue whiting harvest rose to 2600 tonnes (+1200 tonnes, mostly thanks to larger fishing efforts), the bulk of fish, 1900 tonnes namely, was harvested in the Faroese fishing zone.
• 4) The Central Eastern Atlantic, pelagic catches in the Moroccan waters amounted to 2200 tonnes (-2000 tonnes due to sardine, the share of which in catches amounted to 55%).
• 5) The Northwest Atlantic. Two trawlers were finishing remainders of their black halibut quotas in the waters of Greenland (the harvest through the week exceeded 100 tonnes).

In terms of catch volumes the first place was taken by cod with the total result for two Russian basins amounting to 2900 tonnes, the species followed by blue whiting with about 2900 tonnes and haddock 2200 tonnes.

Barents Sea. Bottomfish species

Conditions for bottomfish operations on the second week of December 2010 remained fairly satisfactory. The vessels were located in two main areas: in the sea's southeast and northwest. In conditions of more stable weather, the cod harvest in the Barents Sea through the week rose to 2900 tonnes (+300 tonnes), haddock - to 2200 tonnes (+1200 tonnes). Operations in Spitsbergen contributed the largest share to the nation's catch, there the Russian fishermen harvested 1200 tonnes of cod and 1400 tonnes of haddock. In the Russian EEZ and in the Grey Zone they caught 1200 tonnes of cod and 700 tonnes of haddock. The Russian cod harvest since the beginning of the year amounted to 493,000 tonnes (+29,000 tonnes on the respective result for 2009). Several trawlers continued black halibut fishery in the northwest of the Norwegian EEZ (at that time of the year when the female maturity rate is close to maximum profit from fishing operations can be increased by halibut roe stocking). On the second week of December 2010 they harvested 200 tonnes of black halibut. In the peaking fishing period landings of saithe beyond the NEEZ through the week under analysis did not exceed 100 tonnes, nearly all the fish was harvested in the southwest of the Russian EEZ.

Haddock products made onboard Russian fishing vessels in the Barents Sea through the 2nd week of December 2010

Conditions for red king crab fishery stabilized on fairly low level, the harvest kept declining as the fishing efforts were decreasing. Crab landings through the week amounted to 24 tonnes (-15 tonnes).

Norwegian Sea

The fishery of spring-spawning herring practically discontinued. As the quotas were mostly covered, the total harvest through the week under analysis did not exceed 100 tonnes, -1500 tonnes. Some of the vessels switched to blue whiting fishery.

The harvest of northern blue whiting in the Norwegian Sea by the end of the year was growing due to larger fishing efforts and gradual improvement of fishery conditions in the northern part of the Faroese fishing zone. The total harvest through the week amounted to 2600 tonnes, +1200 tonnes. Most of the blue whiting catch originated from the north of the Faroese fishing zone (1900 tonnes), the bycatch of saithe not exceeding one tonnes.

Central Eastern Atlantic

Pelagic fisheries in the waters of Morocco were conducted by three trawlers, the total harvest through the week under analysis declined to 2200 tonnes (minus 2000 tonnes). The harvest of main commercial species of sardine noticeably decreased, though the fish still dominated in the species range of catches, namely contributing 1200 tonnes or 55% to the total harvest. Horse mackerel accounted for 38% (830 tonnes) of the harvest, mackerel - 7% (150 tonnes). Tunas, bonito and sea bream were also harvested in small volumes.

Northwest Atlantic

In the Northwest Atlantic 2-3 trawlers trawlers coming from Russia's North Fisheries Basin were finishing the black halibut deepsea season at the depths of more than 1000 meters. The harvest in the waters of Greenland through the week amounted to ca.100 metric tons.

Russian catch in the North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic as per 2nd week of December 2010, metric tons