New System Determines Fisheries Closure
02 February 2012NORWAY - In order to protect juveniles, small fish and to reduce discarding, a new system for closing and opening fishing grounds in the North Sea and Skagerrak has been introduced, says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Lisbeth Berg-Hansen.
The new Norwegian system for the closing and opening of fishing grounds in the Norwegian waters south of 62 ° N was launched at the meeting of the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association.
The Barents Sea fishing ground has had in place, for the last 30 years, a system where the fishing grounds will be closed if there is too much interference with undersized fish. The highly positive stock situation for Norwegian Arctic cod shows that an effective protection of juveniles is an important part of sustainable management.
Ms Berg-Hansen says that fishermen are cooperative as they do not want to get unwanted catch as it depletes the fish stock through reducing young numbers and they must be discarded.
The system in the North Sea and Skagerrak will be based on sampling of catches in the field, and if the interference of undersized cod, haddock, saithe and whiting exceed 15 per cent of the catch counted in the number of fish to an area of up to 500 square nautical mil in the North Sea and 250 mil in Skagerrak then they will be closed.
After 14 days of closure the fishery will be opened again unless new surveys that indicate that closure should further be performed.
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