Russia’s Norwegian Sea catch and quota progress in March 2021

In March 2021 Russian fleets continued targeting herring, Northern blue whiting and black halibut in the Norwegian Sea, reports Megafishnet.com.

According to Fishnet.ru, through to March 26 the main group of Russian large vessels continued blue whiting fishery in the area to the west of the British Isles. Namely, there were 7 Kaliningrad-based vessels and 8 vessels coming from Murmansk. In general, the fishery situation was favourable. Since the blue whiting stock entered the closing stage of spawning and the fishery conditions grew worse, on 26 March the fishery was closed and the fleet moved to the Faroese waters.

The blue whiting catch in the area in March 2021 amounted to 29,900 tonnes (+6,700 tonnes). The total catch from the beginning of the year amounted to 53,100 tonnes (77.1% of the Russian quota for blue whiting capture in the NEAFC waters, namely 68,900 tonnes). Last year the fishery to the west of the British Isles got closed on 27 March with the result of 56,200 tonnes.

Faroese fishing zone

In the Faroese fishing zone those Russian vessels who had moved from the west off the British Isles resumed the fishery on 25 March. All in all there were 4 trawlers from Kaliningrad and 7 trawlers from Murmansk. The fishery situation, as usual for the season, was unstable. Through the closing days of March the fleet harvested 1,700 tonnes of blue whiting. From January to March current the Russian harvest of blue whiting in the Faroese waters amounted to 8,200 tonnes (10% of the Russian blue whiting quota in the area – 82,000 tonnes). In 2020 the respective result by the same day of the year was 8,700 tonnes.

NORWEGIAN SEA: Dynamics of Russian catch and quota progress in January-March 2020-2021

Source of catch data: Fishnet.ru