– There are lots and lots of prawns out in the sea, says Kurt Allan Hansen. He is the general manager of Fjordfisk AS, which runs a fish and shellfish reception at Hvaler in Østfold. After several years of lazy shrimp fishing, there have been one or two successful spawnings, Hansen believes. – It looks very promising for the next few years now. At the same time, many fishermen have taken their quota and are just waiting for a new year with new, larger quotas. Wondered where the upswing went – This autumn the fishing has been very good, says prawn fisherman Geir Uno Dreng in Larvik. CATCH: There are 390 kilos of prawns in this bin, says Geir Uno Dreng. Photo: Geir Uno Dreng / Private With 33 years under his belt, he is well acquainted with the ups and downs of the sea. However, the decline he has seen in recent years has lasted a little longer than usual. – It usually goes in 7-8 year cycles, so I’ve been wondering where the upswing went, says Dreng. And now there are reports of a lot of shrimp in Skagerak. This is also experienced by shrimp fishermen from Kristiansand to Hvaler. THE START OF SOMETHING GOOD: Geir Uno Dreng believes that the good shrimp fishing is now the beginning of a good period. Here, Dreng is pictured on his boat in 2018. Photo: John-André Samuelsen / news Best in seven years Prawn fisherman Tore Martinsen lives in Kristiansand. He also learns that the shrimp fishing has been good after the summer. – It is not only at my regular places that prawns are good. There are prawns all the way, says Martinsen. FULL: Tore Martinsen has been fishing for prawns since 1991. After the summer, the bins have been full, he says. Photo: Tore Martinsen / Privat The last time he experienced such good shrimp fishing was in 2015, and before that in 2007–2008. But he can tell that the first half of 2022 was very bad. Arild Stulen, who is the general manager of Reimes Rekefabrikk in Langesund, agrees. – The first half of the year was absolutely terrible, and it was difficult to run a prawn factory then. But after the summer, things have changed, also for the producer who buys raw prawns. – As we see it, there has been a tripling, from 200-300 kilos per trip to up to a tonne. Researcher: – Critically low level – The stock is at a critically low level, says Guldborg Søvik, researcher at the Institute of Marine Research. This has been the case since 2012, according to the researchers, it is stated on the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research’s website. Assessments since 1908 have recently been digitalised, and for example this year’s stock assessment showed that female prawns are only 13 per cent of the spawning stock 114 years ago. FRESH SHRIMP: The large shrimp are cooked on board, before being sold fresh in the shop or straight from the pier. The small shrimps are sold raw to the industry. Some also freeze the prawns, if there is a long distance to the markets. Photo: Tore Martinsen / Privat There have been several years of poor recruitment, as several of the prawn fishermen news has spoken to also confirm. The year classes entering the population are small, but the litter from 2021 seems to be many. – There is longer between the good year classes than before. If there are not more good years ahead, things will go down, says Søvik. – Both are right Despite a bad first half of 2022, and a few poor years before that, shrimp fisherman Tore Martinsen in Kristiansand does not completely agree that there are so few shrimp. – I am a little surprised that the researchers say there are few shrimps. But hitting trial runs is not easy. Kurt Allan Hansen at Hvaler agrees. – We find shrimp at all depths and everywhere. And once the spawning starts, there is an enormous amount of shrimp. Researcher Guldborg Søvik says both the fishermen and the researchers are right. – We have an overview of the entire population from Skagerrak to outside Bergen. And the population is still not so low that it cannot reproduce. But overall, also historically, the stock is at a low level.
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After several bad years, there are reports of a lot of shrimp – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
