Kara Sea snow crab and Barents Sea shrimp to be managed by TAC

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation is preparing to list snow crab opilio of the Kara Sea, the Barents Sea northern shrimp and the pike perch of the Rybinsk reservoir as species to be managed by TAC, reports Megafishnet.com.

According to the VARPE Fishermen and Exporters Association, the relevant draft order of the Ministry is posted on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts for consultation with the industry.

The draft order was developed on the basis of scientific recommendations produced by VNIRO fishery research institute pointing out that in the Kara Sea in recent years, the population of the snow crab opilio has increased to reach an abundance of up to 70 specimens per 100 sq. m. The aggressive influence of this species on the ecosystem led to a 3 – fold decrease in biodiversity in this area, and 7-fold decrease in biomass. Scientists believe that with the current population size, the snow crab in this water area is already acutely lacking food. Therefore, the Federal Agency for Fishery proposed to introduce this species into the fishery.

Shrimp

The listing of the Barents Sea northern shrimp (which until now has been harvested in the mode of possible catch) as TAC-regulated species is associated with a significant increase in the interest in the fishing for this species in recent years. If in 2017 the catch amounted to a little more than 3.7 thousand tons, then in 2018 the growth was threefold to 12 thousand tons, while in 2019 the fishermen harvested almost 27.9 thousand tons of the valuable resource. The recommended catch volume for 2021 is about 36 thousand tons.

The VARPE analytical group has started forming a position on the draft regulation. In particular, VARPE considers the introduction of the northern shrimp of the Barents Sea to the list of "TAC-protected" species as a positive development and believes that, together with other regulatory measures, this will allow maintaining the stocks of northern shrimp at a consistently high level.