A quota reduction of 20 percent is not enough for leader Tom Vegar Kiil of Norway’s Coastal Fishermen’s Association. He believes that the decline in the cod population is so great that harder lye is needed. Kiil refers, among other things, to the fact that there is a Norwegian-Russian administrative rule that sets limits for the quota council from the researchers. According to the rule, the quota for North Austarctic cod – for daily cold skrei – cannot change by more than 20 per cent from one year to the next. This applies both when the quotas are on the way up – and when they are on the way down. Almost 100,000 tonnes lower The cod quota in 2023 is 566,784 tonnes. Norwegian and Russian marine scientists’ advice for 2024 is 453,427 tonnes. It is within the administrative rule of 20 per cent change. – If we had disregarded the management rule, the quota for next year would have been 355,000 tonnes, says research director Geir Huse at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. That is almost 100,000 tonnes less, and almost 40 per cent lower than the researchers have advised for 2024. FASTER: Leader Tom Vegar Kiil of Norway’s Coastal Fishermen’s Association wants a faster quota reduction than the ocean researchers. Photo: Inghild Eriksen Cod live a long time Norwegian and Russian authorities have introduced the management rule to ensure stability for the fishermen. Kiil in the Coastal Fishermen’s Association says large fluctuations have been a problem for the fishermen, even when the quotas are on the way up. That was the case when the cod stock increased sharply about ten years ago. – In one year, the cod quota almost doubled. At the same time, we demolished the price, because we had not followed the increase in the stock quickly enough. Now we see that the decline is going faster than we manage to reduce the quotas, and that is worrying, says Kiil. The cod is a so-called long-lived species and can live to be more than 20 years old. The natural mortality rate is less than for short-lived species such as capelin. Thus, the quota changes can also stretch over a longer period than for the short-lived species. LIVES LONG: The cod lives a long time. Quota changes can therefore stretch over several years. Photo: Gunnar Sætra Quota reduction not fast enough In 2013, Norway and Russia decided that one million tonnes of skrei could be fished. It is still a record, and the quotas remained at a high level for several years. In recent years, the quotas have decreased. The fishermen have nevertheless been satisfied, because the increase in prices has compensated for the reduction in quotas. At the same time, the rule of a maximum 20 per cent decrease from year to year has meant that the quota reduction has been smaller than it would have otherwise been, Kiil believes. – We fish too much cod compared to what we should be doing, he says. GOOD FISHING: The sea fishing fleet has taken large catches of cod in recent years. The management rule In the 1990s, the quotas for cod and other species in the Barents Sea varied greatly from year to year. The Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission wanted the conditions for fishing to be more stable and predictable. In 2002, the administrative rule (also referred to as the “action rule”) was adopted. The rule is an administrative measure to ensure a stable and predictable harvest of the fish. For cod in the Barents Sea, it has been decided that the quota should not increase or decrease by more than 20 percent from one year to the next. Source: Homepage of the Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission and hi.no Fiskarlagsleiar: – On safe grounds, Leader Kåre Heggebø of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association believes that it is the right of both researchers and governing authorities to stick to the Norwegian-Russian management rule when the quotas are to be set. Then the quotas will not jump up and down from year to year. He also believes that the researchers act correctly when they follow the administrative rule. – We are on safe ground when we follow the advice given by the researchers. Heggebø sees no reason to disregard the management rule, because it makes it possible to manage long-lived species in the wisest possible way. – This applies to cod, and it applies to herring and mackerel, he says. ACT RIGHT: – – We are on safe ground when we follow the advice the researchers have given, says leader Kåre Heggebø of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association. Photo: Jan-Erik Indrestrand / Norges Fiskarlag Can come suddenly If the spawning stock (fish mature enough to reproduce) falls below the so-called “precautionary level”, the Norwegian and Russian authorities must disregard the management rule. The precautionary limit for spawning-ready skrei is 460,000 tonnes. By next year, the spawning population is expected to be almost 590,000 tonnes. The alarm goes off when the spawning stock falls below the precautionary level. The leader of the Coastal Fishermen’s Association believes it could happen suddenly, perhaps in 2025. – Then the quotas could be reduced by 40 per cent, something that should have already happened for this year’s quotas, he says. Kiil agrees with the principle that governing authorities and researchers should take into account the fishing industry’s need for stability, because it helps to balance the knowledge of fishermen and researchers. Today, it is not the right medicine for the Coastal Fishermen’s Association. – Now both parties see that things are going the wrong way. Then we have to take the necessary action, he says. QUOTAS: Overview of the researchers’ quota councils and the fixed quotas. For some years, the quota council and the fixed quota have been the same. In other years, the fixed quota has been higher than the quota council. Poor recruitment to the stock Ten years ago the cod quota was one million tonnes. The researchers’ quota recommendation for 2024 is less than half of this. Research director Geir Huse at the Institute of Marine Research explains this with weak recruitment. The cod stock has simply not been able to renew itself in the last ten years. – Despite a record spawning stock in 2013 and 2014, it has declined rapidly because there has been no increase in new recruits, says Huse. The Swedish Marine Corps defines the three-year-olds as “recruits”. Then they are big enough to be counted as part of the cod stock. LITTLE AFTER-GROWTH: Research director Geir Huse at the Institute of Marine Research says there has been a record low recruitment to the cod stock in recent years. Photo: Havforskningsinstituttet – There has been a record low recruitment to the stock, especially when you look at it in relation to the number of spawners, that is to say parents. There have therefore been poor returns in the stock over the past ten years, says the research director. – Good fishing was reported this spring, especially outside Finnmark. Was it just a hitchhiker? – No, I think it’s part of a continuing trend, and that the skrei have spawned more northerly. We expect the trend to continue, says Huse. – Does this also apply to other species? – Yes. The mackerel has become more northerly and has spread over large parts of the northern Norwegian Sea, and spawns partly in the Norwegian Sea. We also see that the herring have spawned a record far north, and there was very little spawning south of Røst. There is a clear move north for the commercial stocks, concludes Huse.
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Management rule set limits for the quota advice from the marine research institutes – news Troms and Finnmark
