Results of Russian fisheries in the North Atlantic in July 2007

According to provisional figures, Russia's total harvest in the North Atlantic in July 2007 amounted to 94,100 metric tons, 3600 tonnes up from the result of June current. The catch rise could be attributed mostly to higher rates on the mackerel grounds in the Norwegian Sea.

In the Barents Sea the most efficient period for cod fishery in the sea started drawing to a close. The stock dispersed on a wide area and for a large period of time it was in more dispersed condition. With the fishing efforts remaining stable in number, the cod harvest still decreased by 5000 metric tons. As in the course of the month the bulk of the fleet operated on mixed concentrations of cod and haddock in the Russian EEZ, the haddock harvest through July increased by 1200 tonnes to 10,400 tonnes. Most of the cod (ca.70%) and haddock (more than 90%) catches were contributed by the Russian EEZ. The total harvest of bottomfish in the Barents Sea in July amounted to ca.35,000, down by 3600 tonnes on the previous month.

In the Norwegian Sea in July 2007 the fleet was switching to mackerel and to herring in the end of the month, which told on the results of pelagic species. More specifically, blue whiting landings dropped by 6600 tonnes on June 2007, though landings of herring and mackerel correspondingly increased by 5500 tonnes and 12,400 tonnes. As a result, the total harvest of pelagic species in the Norwegian Sea amounted to 39,700 tonnes, 11,000 tonnes up on the previous month.

In the Irminger Sea the fishing efforts on the grounds of ocean perch Sebastes mentella were decreasing in July 2007 with some of the vessels moving to the Norwegian Sea. As a result, the harvest of ocean perch decreased from 6000 tonnes in June to 5300 tonnes in July 2007. In the second half of the month under analysis the vessels started to move to the southwest part of the sea to the south off Greenland. In the Northwest Atlantic in the waters of East and West Greenland one trawler coming from Murmansk conducted limited halibut fishery with the ship's total catch through the month amounting to no more than 100 tonnes.

In the waters of Central Eastern Atlantic (West Sahara and Mauritania) pelagic species were harvested by a small group of up to 4-6 vessels. Unlike June 2007, catches contained mostly mackerel, horse mackerel and sardinella with the shares of each species equaling at ca.30%. The total harvest of pelagic species in the area exceeded 14,000 tonnes, 2300 tonnes up on the previous month.

Russian catches in the North Atlantic in July 2007