Greenland halibut in Subareas I and Il

State of the stock

Spawning biomass Fishing mortality Fishing C om ment in relation to in relation to mortality in

precautionary limits precautionary relation to

limits highest vield

Unknown unlrnown Overfished

In the absence of defined reference points, the status of the stock cannot be evaluated with regard to these. The assessment indicates that SSB has been low since the late 1.980s, but a slight increase is indicated in recent years.

Fishing mortality in recent years is estimated to be close to the long-term average. Recruitment has been stable although at a low leve! since 1.9.90.

Management objectives

No explicit management objectives have been established for this stock.

Reference points

No precautionary reference points have been established for this stoclc.

Yield and spawning biomass per Recntit

F-r~ference points

Fish Mort Yield/R SSB/R Ages 6-10

Average last 3 years0.243 1.085 2.067

Fmax 0.144 1.116 3.622

Fo.t 0.064 1.008 7.109

Fmed 0.251 1.082 1.994

Siugle-stock exploitation bouudaries

Exploitation boundaries in relation to high lang-term yield, low risk of depletion of production potential and considering ecosystem ~ffects

The current estimated fishing mortality (0.21) is above fishing mortalities that would lead to high long-term yields (Fo.1=0.06, Fmax =0.14). This indicates that long-term yield will increase at Fs well below the historie values. Fishing at such lower mortalities would lead to higher SSB and, therefore, lower risles of fishing outside precautionary limits.

Exploitation boundaries in relation to precautionary limits

The stoclc has remained at a relatively low size in the last 25 years at catch levels of 15 000-25 000 t. In order to increase the SSB, catches should be kept well below that range. Catches should not increase above the recent average of 13 000 t for 2005 to allow for continued increase in the spawning stoclc.

Management considerations

As the stock is at a low leve! and possibly slightly recovering, there is a need for the stoclc size to increase. In order to achieve this, the landings should not exceed 13 000 t. The stock has not showed ability to increase at Fs associated with catches larger than this.

Additional management measures to control catches, e.g. TACs covering all catches, area closures, and reduced bycatch limits, need to be introduced and enforced effectively.

Ecosystem considerations

The Greenland halibut has a negligible effect on the other commercial species in the Barents Sea both as predator and prey.

Factors affecting the fisheries and the stock Regulations and their ({[fects

Since 1992, the fishery has been regulated by allowing a directed fishery only by small coastallongline and gillnet vessels. Bycatches of Greenland halibut in the trawl fisheries have been limited by permissible bycatch per haul and allowable bycatch retention limit onboard the vessel. Since 2004, the bycatch is only limited by a catch retention limit onboard the vessel at an y time.

The regulations enforced in 1992 reduced the totallandings of Greenland halibut by trawlers from 20 000 to about 6000 t. Since then and until1998, annual trawler landings have varied between 5000 and 8000 t without any clear trend attributable to changes in allowable bycatch. However, the increase of trawler landings in 1999 to lO 000 t may be attributable partly to the less restrictive bycatch regulations. Landings of Greenland halibut from the directed longline and gillnet fisheries have also increased in recent years to well above the level of 2500 t set by the Norwegian authorities. This is attributed to the increased difficulties ofregulating a fishery that only lasts for a few weeks.

Environment

Greenland halibut occurs over a wide range of depths (from 20 to 2200 m) and temperatures (from -1.5 to l 0°C). Young Greenland halibut occur mostly in the northeastem Barents Sea (Spitsbergen archipelago and further east to Franz Josef Land) where the presence of adult Greenland halibut or other predators appears minimal. Therefore, Greenland halibut mortality after settling in the area is low and stable, and driven mainly by environmental factors.

Scientific basis Data and methods

An analytical assessment was based on commercial catch-at-age data, two survey series, and ane experimental commercial CPUE series.

Uncertainties in ass ess ment and forecast

The assessment continues to be u~certain due to age-reading problems. The age-reading issue is being addressed and should be largely resolved for future years, but corrections to past years are required. Nevertheless, it is considered that the assessment reflects the trends of the stoclc development reasonably well.

Comparison with previous as sess ment and advice

In comparison to last year's assessment, recent SSBs are somewhat lower.

Source of information

Report ofthe Arctic Fisheries Working Group, 4-13 May 2004 (ICES CM 2004/ACFM:28).

1987 Precautionary TAC 19 19

1988 No decrease in SSB 19 20 20

1989 F = F(87); TAC 21 20 20

1990 F = F (89); TAC 15 23 23

1991 F at Fmed; TAC; improved ex:pl. pattem 9 33 33

1992 Rebuild SSB(1991) 6 i 9 9

1993 TAC 7 i ^{12 12}

1994 F <O.l < 12 11' 9 9

1995 No fishing o ^2.52 11 11

1996 No fishing o ^{2.52 14 14}

1997 No fishing o ^{2.52 lO lO}

1998 No fishing o 2.52 13 13

1999 No fishing o ^{2.52 19 19}

2000 No fishing o ^2.52 14 14

2001 Reduce catch to rebuild stock <11 2.52 16 16

2002 Reduce F substantially <11 2.52 13 13

2003 Reduce catch to increase stock < 13 2.52 13 13

2004 Do not ex:ceed recent low catches <13 2.52 2005 Do not ex:ceed recent low catches < 13

1Set by Norwegian authorities. 2Set by Norwegian authorities for the non-trawl fishecy; allowable bycatch in the trawl fishery is additional to this. Weights in '000 t.

Greenland halibut in Subareas I and II

Stock - Recruitment

Ta ble 4.1.5.1 Greenland halibut. Nominal catch (t) by countries (Subarea I, Divisions lia and IIb combined) as

Table 4.1.5.2 Greenland halibut. Nominal catch (t) by countries in Subarea I as officially reported to ICES.

Table 4.1.5.3 Greenland halibut. Nominal catch (t) by countries in Division Ila as officially reported to ICES.

Year Estonia Faroe France Fed. Green Ireland Norway Port Russia⁵ Spa in UK UK Total

3 As reported to Norwegian authorities.

4Includes Division IIb.

5 USSR prior to 1991.

Table 4.1.5.4 Greenland halibut. Nominal catch (t) by countries in Division Hb as officially reported to ICES.

Year DenEstonia Faroe Fra Fed. Ire Lith Norway P o Port Russia⁴ Spain UK UK Total

mark Isl. nce Rep. land uania land u gal (E&W) (Scot.)

Germ.

1984 1,900 80 9,641· 5 11,626

1985 3,746 71 3,221 2 7,040

1986 36 2,620. 944 6,032 + 9,632

1987 + 1,947 572 4,735 7 10 7,271

1988 590 239 5,008 19 + 5,856

1989 496 533 3,366 4,395

1990 23² 942 7,706 - ^{3,1972 9 11,877}

1991 11 1,000 80 - ^14,369 - ^{1,6632 132} + 17,256

1992 - ^{32 12 1,732 16 193 23 9 1,988}

1993 23 - ^{23 8}

-

^{303 649 26 158 14 889}

1994 4 13 83 46 43 881 10 41 62 2 1,061

1995 5 1,662 24 297 1,022 32 5 3,047

1996 + 47 1,204 24 912 196 39 + ^2,422

1997 12 33 2 1,349 12 9 534 156² 46 + 2,153

1998 10 18 915 31 19 1,638 2542 106 4 2,996

1999 3 14 839 8 16 1,886 318² 31 3,115

2000¹ 2 5 526 3 19 2,709 374² 46 3,685

2001¹ + 9 1,2312

2 22 3,017 4132 42 4,736

2002¹ 219 + 30 440² 5 11 3,568 178² 29 4,486

2003¹ 13 658² 4 10 1,887 167² 35 2,774

Provisional figures.

2Worldng Group figure.

3 As reported to Norwegian authorities.

4USSR prior to 1991.

Table 4.1.5.5 Greenland halibut in Subareas I & IL

Year Recruitment SSB Landings MeanF

Age5 Ages 6-10

Telefaks

REGULERING A V FISKET ETTER BLÅKVEITE I 2005

Norges Fiskarlag har i landsstyremøtet 24. november 2004 drøftet reguleringen av fisket etter blåkveite i 2005 og fattet følgende vedtak i sak 111/04

Adresse

1. "Norges Fiskarlag viser til at partene i den 33. blandede norsk-russiske fiskerikommisjonen ble enig om fortsatt å begrense uttaket av blåkveite for å bygge bestanden opp. Partene ble også enig om at det ved fiske etter andre fiskeslag er tillatt å ha inntil 12 % bifangst av blåkveite i vekt av de enkelte fangster og inntil 7 % om bord ved avslutning av fisket og ved landing.

Av protokollen går det fram at det i Norge legges opp til at fartøyene i 2005 skal kunne bli kontrollert ved landing etter en bifangstprosent som er mindre enn 7

%.

2. Norges Fiskarlag synes det er urovekkende at det er så store sprik mellom fiskernes observasjoner av forekomster av blåkveite og hva forskerne beregner bestanden til.

3. Norges Fiskarlag viser til at norske trålere har gjennomgått sterke innstramninger i fisket etter uer de siste årene, noe som har umuliggjort bifangstfisket etter blåkveite.

For at denne gruppen skal sikres et rimelig uttak av blåkveite i forhold til

totaluttaket, må trålerne tildeles et maksimalkvantum av blåkveite på 60 tonn pr.

tråler. Denne maksimalkvoten må avregnes mot trålernes kvote av torsk, hyse . og sei og skal utgjøre maksimalt 4 % av disse fiskeslagene om bord ved

levering.

For å kunne utnytte denne kvoten er det nødvendig å liberalisere dagens regler med hensyn til prøvehal i områder hvor det normalt er mye blåkveite for å slippe å komme i konflikt med kystvakten.

4. Norges Fiskarlag vil også be om at all forskningsfangst blir belastet en egen forsknings"kolonnne" og ikke som nå der det dette kvantumet blir langt inn til den redskapsgruppen som har fisket forskningskvotene.

5. Norges Fiskarlag viser til man tidligere har diskutert om fisket etter blåkveite kan deles i 2 perioder. Fiskarlaget mener nå at tiden er inne for å gjøre et slikt forsøk både for å spre landingene av blåkveite og dermed skape større verdier,

E-postadresse Telefon Telefaks Organisasjonsnr:

Telefaks

Vår dato Vår referanse

2 av 2

24112004 200400281/4-532.3

men også for å gi mulighet til å fiske blåkveite på høsten når denne både er av større og av bedre kvalitet.

Norges Fiskarlag krever derfor at fisket etter blåkveite i 2005 gjennomføres over to perioder hver på 1 måned der første periode starter 1. juni og andre periode starter 1. august.

Ingen fartøy kan drifte i begge perioder. Ved et slikt opplegg kreves det gjennomført et påmeldingssystem der det klargjøres hvilken periode det skal fiskes i.

6. Norges Fiskarlag vil etter en totalvurdering tilrå at maksimalkvotene i det direkte fiske etter blåkveite for kystflåten økes med 50 % i 2005.

7. Norges Fiskarlag vil for øvrig tilrå at det reguleringsopplegg som har vært benyttet for fisket etter blåkveite for konvensjonelle redskaper i 2004 videreføres."

Kopi til: Medlemslaga

Med hilsen NORGES FISKARLAG

Jan Slgærvø

Elling Lorentsen

VAuef.: Landsstyret Deres ref.

Fiskeridirektoratet Pb 2009 Nordnes 5817 Bergen

Att: Reguleringsrådet

Vi\rd4to: 24.11.04 Deres dato:

In document Fiskeridirektoratet REFERAT FRA MØTE I REGULERINGSRÅDET 30. NOVEMBER OG 1. DESEMBER 2004 (sider 156-167)