Measures to stop illegal fishing of cod in the Barents Sea were the main topic at the 34th session of the Joint Norwegian–Russian Fisheries Commission. “I am very pleased that the Fisheries Commission has decided to give priority to this work and that Norway and Russia have agreed to implement further measures to deal with this problem,” says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

The Commission has also set quotas for 2006 for all the stocks jointly managed by the two nations. The total quota for Norwegian Arctic cod has been set at 471,000 tonnes, while the quota for coastal cod has been set at 21,000 tonnes. This means that the total quota for Norwegian Arctic cod and coastal cod together is 492,000 tonnes, i.e. a reduction of 14,000 tonnes compared with the quota for 2005. The Norwegian quota for king crab has been set at 300,000 crabs, which is an increase of 20,000 crabs compared with this year. The Russian quota is three million crabs. “I am also happy that we have agreed on a cod quota that provides stability for the industry and is in keeping with the exploitation strategy adopted in 2003 and that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) finds consistent with a precautionary approach,” says the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.

The agreement was signed in Kaliningrad on Friday 28 October 2005, after a week-long meeting of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission.

The total quota for Norwegian Arctic cod for 2006 of 471,000 tonnes is consistent with the Fisheries Commission’s exploitation strategy. The objective of this strategy is to promote sustainable exploitation of the cod stock and provide reasonable stability for the fishing industry from year to year, by ruling that the quotas shall not fluctuate by more than 10% a year.

“Keeping the quota of Norwegian Arctic cod at a relatively stable level from year to year provides predictability for the industry,” says the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.

The quantity of coastal cod that may be caught has been set at 21,000 tonnes for 2006. The Norwegians have made allowances for limited fishing of costal cod and the unavoidable mixture of coastal cod with the fishing of Norwegian Arctic cod.

The total quota for cod is divided between Norway, Russia and third countries in the same proportions as in earlier years. This gives Norway a total quota of 219,700 tonnes for next year, including 7000 tonnes for research and management purposes, marking a 6000 tonne reduction compared with 2005.

With regard to king crab, the Russians stated that they had already set a Russian total quota of three million individuals for 2006. In light of this, the Norwegian fishery authorities have unilaterally decided a Norwegian total quota of king crab of 300,000 individuals in Norway’s economic zone east of 26°E for 2006, which is an increase of 20,000 crabs compared with this year’s quota.

“We are aware of the fact that this year the quotas deviate from the joint resource management strategy for king crab, in light of new information from Russian researchers about the king crab stock in Russian areas of jurisdiction. It is clear that there is still much we do not know about stocks of king crab, and I am pleased that researchers have been asked to study whether new resource management strategies need to be developed to improve our understanding of the dynamics of developments in the stock,” says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

The haddock stock is in good condition, and the total quota has been increased from 117,000 tonnes for the current year to 120,000 tonnes for 2006. This is also consistent with the exploitation strategy adopted in 2003. The Norwegian quota is 61,800 tonnes after the transfer of quotas from Russia, i.e. 1500 tonnes more than in 2005.

The capelin stock is subject to large natural fluctuations in size and is still at a low level. It has therefore been decided not to allow any capelin fishing in 2006, in keeping with the agreed exploitation strategy.

The stock of deepwater redfish remains at a worrying level. It is therefore out of the question to allow direct fishing of deepwater redfish in 2006. The secondary catch of redfish allowed while fishing for other species has been set to 15%, which is the same as last year.

Norway has allocated secondary catch quotas of 2000 tonnes of redfish and 10,000 tonnes of saithe to Russia in Norway's economic zone, in addition to a quota of 2000 tonnes of wolf-fish and 3000 tonnes of other non-regulated stocks. Norway has also allocated a blue whiting quota of 50,000 tonnes to Russia. However, this quota may be reduced when an international agreement on the management of blue whiting is established.

In addition to the transfer of cod and haddock quotas of 6000 tonnes and 4500 tonnes respectively, Russia has also allocated quotas of 3000 tonnes of shrimp, 1500 tonnes of wolf-fish, 1000 tonnes of flounder and 500 tonnes of non-regulated stocks to Norway. Norway can catch up to 10,000 adult seals in the Russian zone on the East Ice. There is an option to raise the quota for seal to 15,000 individuals.

This year's Commission meeting discussed problems associated with the illegal fishing of cod in the Barents Sea at length, and a special working group was set up to deal with issues related to monitoring and control during the week-long meeting in Kaliningrad. Both parties are concerned about the situation and agree that further measures are necessary to get illegal fishing under control.

To improve controls of fishing in the Barents Sea, the parties have agreed to set up a new subcommittee of the Commission. In addition to representatives from both countries’ inspection bodies, this committee shall also consist of representatives from the police and public prosecution authorities and the customs and tax authorities in the two countries. The committee shall aim to improve follow-up of cases of suspected overfishing, to clarify the documentation requirements for prosecution and improve coordination of investigations.

The parties also agreed to allow inspectors from the two countries to use each other’s coastguard vessels for inspections of their own fishermen in the “Grey Zone” and the “Loophole” in the Barents Sea.

In addition, the parties agreed to expand the system for exchanging information about fishing, to increase collaboration with the third countries’ authorities, and to establish an “emergency unit" that can visit third countries to improve ability to detect landings of unregistered catches.

Last but not least, Norway and Russia have decided to pen a joint request to the authorities in port states asking for assistance in registering and controlling landings of fish from the Barents Sea.

“I am very pleased with the control measures we have agreed upon, and I hope that they will lead to a significant reduction in illegal fishing in the Barents Sea,” says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

Attachment:

• PROTOKOLL FOR DEN 34. SESJON I DEN BLANDETE NORSK-RUSSISKE FISKERIKOMMISJON
• Den norske delegasjon til den 34. sesjon i Den blandete norsk-russiske fiskerikommisjon, Kaliningrad, 24. – 29. oktober 2005
• Den russiske delegasjon til den 34. sesjon i Den blandete fiskerikommisjon, Kaliningrad 24. – 28. oktober 2005
• Dagsorden for den 34. sesjon i Den blandete norsk-russiske fiskerikommisjon, Kaliningrad, 24. – 28. oktober 2005
• OVERSIKT OVER TOTALKVOTER OG FORDELING AV KVOTER MELLOM NORGE, RUSSLAND OG TREDJELAND (I TONN) I 2006
• FORDELING AV TREDJELANDSKVOTEN AV TORSK I 2006 (I TONN)
• KVOTER I 2006 FOR GJENSIDIG FANGST AV TORSK OG HYSE FOR NORGE OG RUSSLAND I DE TO LANDS ØKONOMISKE SONER (I TONN).
• KVOTER TIL RUSSLAND PÅ NORSKE BESTANDER I NORGES ØKONOMISKE SONE (I TONN) I 2006
• TEKNISKE REGULERINGSTILTAK OG FELLES OMREGNINGSFAKTORER FOR FISKEPRODUKTER
• REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON SEALS
• Protokoll fra møtet i Det permanente utvalg for forvaltnings- og kontrollspørsmål på fiskerisektoren i Murmansk 3. - 7. oktober 2005
• JOINT NORWEGIAN – RUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAM ON LIVING MARINE RESOURCES IN 2006
• Report of the Basic Document Working Group (BDWG) to The Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission, October 2005
• REPORT of the 3-year (2002-2004) Joint Russian-Norwegian Research Program on Greenland halibut