Russian fisheries in North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic as per mid-December 2009

The total harvest of Russian vessels in the North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic from 8 to 15 December 2009 amounted to ca.10,400 tonnes, thus displaying a decrease by 360 tonnes on the result of the first week of November, fishery sources in Murmansk told www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru), with reference to provisional figures of National Centre for Fisheries Monitoring and Communication.

Share of fish harvested by vessels coming from Kaliningrad-led West Fisheries Basin amounts to 16%. The main fishing areas and objects were typical for the end of the year. Cod and haddock were harvested in the Barents Sea with bycatch of demersal fish species and red king crab. The fishery of polar cod Boreogadus saida stopped in the first week of December 2009.

The herring fishery in the Norwegian Sea is coming to the end and, as the herring quotas were covered, some of the vessels switched to fish blue whiting. The blue whiting catch from 8 to 15 December exceeded 1000 tonnes. The fishing of pelagic species in the Central Eastern Atlantic continued. The fishery and weather conditions did not change much, thus the total catch in Central Eastern Atlantic decreased only by 360 tonnes. Central Eastern Atlantic horse mackerel, Barents Sea cod and Norwegian Sea herring took the top three positions in the total catch volumes - 23%, 14% and 11% correspondingly. The total herring catch was at 67% contributed by Kaliningrad fishing vessels.

Barents Sea. Groundfish fish species.

Around 30 vessels continued bottomfish operations in the Barents Sea during 8 - 15 of December 2009. By that time the bulk of the fleet had been located in the South-East of the Sea within the grounds of EEZ and Grey Zone. Fishery conditions in December 2009 did not practically change and the landings of cod and haddock during the second week of December remained mostly unchanged. Namely, the total volume of Russian cod harvested in the Barents Sea amounted to 1,500 tonnes (down 340 tonnes), haddock - 1100 tonnes (up 410 tonnes). Taking into account the fleet position and weather conditions, the main volume of cod (more than 60%) and haddock (more than 70%) was harvested during the second week of December 2009 in the Russian zone. Totally, by the middle of December 2009 North Basin fishermen landed more than 225,000 tonnes of cod. The saithe harvest in the period of bottomfish operations beyond the Norwegian EEZ stayed at the minimal level of 21 tonnes.

Red king crab

In the Russian EEZ 15-17 vessels have been fishing red king crabs by traps. The majority of crabbers continued working in the North-Eastern area off the the Kola Peninsula at a distance of 80-120 miles. Fishing conditions did not change. The daily catch rates showed large fluctuations, with the average rates amounting to less than 2.5 tonnes per day. Total harvest volume of Red king crab during the second week of December stayed at the level of 295 tonnes (+6 tonnes).

Norwegian Sea. Herring

A small group of 6-7 vessels, mostly coming from Kaliningrad, was fishing out of their herring quota remainders. The fishing area in the Norwegian EEZ located at a distance of 50-100 miles off the North of Lofoten Island. Total herring catch in the second week of December 2009 increased by 40 tonnes and amounted to 1200 tonnes. The share of fish harvested by Kaliningrad trawlers amounted to 67%. Covering the quotas gradually, several vessels moved to the wintering grounds of blue whiting, mainly in the North part of the Faroese fishing zone. As a result, the total catch of blue whiting in the Norwegian Sea increased to 1100 tonnes (by 430 tonnes).

Central Eastern Atlantic

Pelagic fisheries concentrated mostly in the waters of West Sahara. During the second week of December 2009 a group of 4-7 vessels harvested 3800 tonnes (down 300 tonnes). The dominating species was horse mackerel with the share of 62%, followed by mackerel (32%) and anchovy (7%). One or two trawlers operating in the Mauritanian waters harvested 890 tonnes of fish, mainly sardine (41%), sardinella (28%) and anchovy (13%).

Provisional catch figures for North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic in 1-8 December 2009