BarentsNews.com

The Joint Norwegian – Russian Fisheries Commission that ended its 31st session in Oslo last week laid the basis for a lasting strategy of common stocks management formulated as “Main principles and criteria of long-term, sustainable management of living resources of the Barents and Norwegian Seas”.

The two states agreed that since 2004 total allowable catches for marine resources would be determined for a period of 3 years, basing upon research data on the stocks’ state. The annual corrections of the TAC within a 3-year period shall not increase 10% of the initially fixed volume.

Participants also agreed on total allowable catches for 2003 as well as reciprocal quotas to be exploited within each other’s exclusive economic zones and quotas allocated to third countries.

Norwegian cod and haddock quotas in the Russian EEZ were set at 140 000 tonnes for cod and 20 000 for haddock, the same amounts are to be caught by Russians in the Norwegian EEZ.

Other Norwegian quotas for fishing in the Russian EEZ in 2003 were fixed as below:

- shrimp – 3 000 tonnes;
- catfish – 1500 tonnes;
- plaice – 1000 tonnes;
- other species (not distributed on quota basis, but harvested as by-catch) – 500 tonnes .

The Greenland seal quota was determined at 10 thousand mature animals.

Capelin fishing season was fixed as starting January 1st and ending April 30th 2003. The TAC for capelin is 310 000 tonnes, split 60-40 in favour of Norway, i.e. the Norwegian share is 186 000 tonnes and Russians have got 124 000 tonnes.

Crab harvesting was high on the agenda at the meeting. Both sides noted the lack of research data on crab in relation to other marine organisms inhabiting the Barents Sea, and scientists were required to pay special attention to the problem, carrying out more surveys on crab.