Russian fisheries in North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic in November 2007

In November 2007 the total harvest of the Russian fleets in the North Atlantic and in the Central Eastern Atlantic remained at the previous month's level of 63,000 tonnes, though the catch structure in the main fishing areas substantially changed with the harvest of polar cod Boreogadus saida considerably growing in the Barents Sea versus a drop of herring catches in the Norwegian Sea, fishery sources in Murmansk, with reference to provisional figures as per early November, told www.fishnet-russia.com (https://www.fishnet.ru/).

Barents Sea

In the Barents Sea the cod fishery was more active and the landings of the species exceeded 12,500 tonnes through November, 3200 tonnes up on October 2007. The largest share (60%) of the total harvest of the species was contributed by the northwest part of the sea off Spitsbergen, though in the southeast of the sea the fishing efforts were larger.

In November 2007 the Russian fishermen harvested 4100 tonnes of haddock, 500 tonnes down on the previous month. According to the conditions of the stock distribution, the bulk of haddock (80%) was harvested in the Russian EEZ.

In November 2007 the fishery of polar cod Boreogadus saida got more active with the prespawning concentrations moving along the New Land coast to the south from the 77 to the 71 degrees North. Fairly good fishing situation enabled the group of up to 7 trawlers to harvest ca. 20,000 tonnes of polar cod, 17,200 tonnes up on the previous month.

Red king crab

The fishery conditions on the grounds of red king crab remained unchanged. The fishing group of up to 20 crabbers harvested no more than 2500 tonnes of the species, 300 tonnes down on the previous month. By the end of the month some vessels were about to finish the fishing season due to the complete exhaustion of their catch quotas. According to the shipowners, in 2007 the strength of red king crab concentrations has been lower than in the recent years, that is why in order to exhaust the fishermen's large quotas the process engineers have had to soften their requirements to the harvest of raw fish as to some of its parameters.

Norwegian Sea

In November 2007 the expedition fleet operating in the Norwegian Sea was targeting herring and blue whiting. The fishing efforts on the herring grounds in the Norwegian EEZ were gradually decreasing in the course of the month. The last vessels left the area on 24 November 2007 after a notice of the Norwegian side on the complete exhaustion of the Russian quota. As a result, the total harvest of herring through the month under analysis did not exceed 5000 tonnes, 23,200 tonnes down on the previous month. The contribution of Kaliningrad-based vessels was estimated at ca.36%.

Blue whiting, which was harvested mostly as bycatch in the start of the month, turned out to be the main commercial species. The main fishing scene concentrated in the Faroese fishing zone where by the end of the month there were up to 8 vessels, including 2 trawlers coming from Kaliningrad, which was actually not enough to exhaust the quota until the end of the year. The total harvest of blue whiting in November amounted to 6600 tonnes, 2200 tonnes up on the previous month with the share of fish harvested by Kaliningrad-based vessels amounting to 36%.

Central Eastern Atlantic

In the Central Eastern Atlantic (zones of Mauritania and Western Sahara) Russia's harvest of pelagic fish through November 2007 exceeded 10,000 tonnes, 2100 tonnes up on October 2007. Unlike in the previous months the bulk of the harvest in November 2007 was contributed by sardine accounting for 46% of the catch. The share of mackerel and sardinella came down to 26% and 14% correspondingly.

Russia's catches in the North Atlantic and Central Eastern Atlantic in November 2007