Agreement on Norwegian-Russian quotas for 2009

“The stock situation in the Barents Sea is very encouraging, and this will benefit Norwegian and Russian fishermen and coastal communities. Cod and haddock quotas will increase, and will be higher in 2009 than for many years. We see that our long-term cooperation on responsible management, research and control is reaping great rewards,” says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

The parties have agreed to set the 2009 cod quota at 525,000 tonnes, the haddock quota at 194,000 tonnes and to allow capelin fishing within a quota of 390,000 tonnes. For Norway, the quota increase for cod and haddock and the reopening of capelin fishing represents a landed value of between NOK 1 and 1.5 billion. Both directly and through ripple effects this will contribute to stable employment and value creation in the fisheries industry. “The quota increases will stimulate greater activity and can secure jobs and ensure profitability in a situation of great economic uncertainty. This is particularly important for an export industry that is exposed both to international fluctuations and economic trends in Norway. I believe this represents an important signal to those in the fisheries industry that has been worried about the future, and will simultaneously underline that the quotas for 2009 are safely within sustainable limits,” says Pedersen.

In setting the cod quotas for 2009 the parties have gone above the limits of the established management strategy by increasing the quota by about 20 per cent, while the normal range is a change of up to 10 per cent from one year to the next. The reason for this decision is that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has assessed the stock situation as being far better than the basis that has been used in recent years. However, a key point in this year’s agreement is that in next year’s negotiations the parties are to return to the approved strategy.

“Even though the quota for cod is larger than what the fishing rule warrants, the quota for next year will still be below the precautionary principle level. Based on the advice of ICES, the catch level that we have now agreed to means that the spawning population will continue to grow until 2010, and that the fishing pressure on stocks is expected to be the lowest since 1991,” says Pedersen.

The agreement between Norway and Russia was signed in Bergen on Thursday 16 October 2008, following a week-long meeting of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission. In addition to the positive stock situation the parties ascertained that progress continues to be made in the effort to curb illegal fishing in the Barents Sea, and they will continue cooperation to combat these activities. Moreover, the parties have set up a working group to assess joint technical regulation of fishing in the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea.

Norway and Russia have set the total 2009 quota for Norwegian Arctic cod at 525,000 tonnes. The quota for coastal cod has been set at 21,000 tonnes. This means that the overall cod quota has been set at 546,000 tonnes, an increase of 95,000 tonnes compared to this year.

The total quota for cod is divided between Norway, Russia and third countries in the same proportions as previous years. Norway’s quota for next year will be 234,100 tonnes, an increase of about 40,000 tonnes from 2008.

Haddock stocks are in good condition, and the total quota has been increased from 155,000 tonnes for this year to 194,000 tonnes for 2009. This provides a Norwegian quota of 93,050 tonnes, i.e. 16,500 tonnes more than in 2008. The quota has been determined in accordance with the management rule that ICES has assessed as sustainable.

Norway and Russia have agreed to manage king crabs separately within their respective economic zones. The Norwegian quota for the next season will be set later this autumn. Joint research on king crabs will still be performed and the results will be presented at the Commission meetings. Furthermore, an agreement has been made to hold a research symposium on the king crab in Russia in 2009.

While capelin fishing has been closed since 2003, the stock situation is now so good that fishing will be reopened in the Barents Sea in 2009. This is in line with the approved fishing rule for capelin – which also takes the importance of the capelin to the ecosystem into account – and provides a catch within sustainable limits.

The parties have agreed to maintain the ban on direct fishing of Greenland halibut, although Norway will still carry out limited coastal fishing with conventional gear in the Norwegian zone. For Greenland halibut, Norway and Russia have also set up a working group that will study criteria for determining an allocation key for Greenland halibut, and discuss a long-term management strategy.

Norway and Russia have an extensive research collaboration on living marine resources and the ecosystem in the Barents Sea. This cooperation provides the basis for management of the resources, and the parties have reached an agreement on the joint Norwegian-Russian research programme for 2009.