Top headlines Mackerel Mystery
Mackerel Mystery
Friday, 30 July 2010 09:32
What has happened is that the mackerel’s migration has shifted north and a whole new bunch of people are out to fish them. Forty years ago there were shoals of mackerel in the North Sea.
Now in the month of August, when most mackerel get caught, the great shoals are to be found between Norway and Iceland. Last year Iceland declared a quota of 112,000 tons, having never apparently fished for mackerel before. It caught this on top of the scientifically agreed quota allocated between the European Union, Norway and Russia. This year it declared a unilateral quota of 130,000 tons and the Faroe Islands say they want more, too.
 |
July 16 2010: "Mackerel is 'boiling' in Norwegian Sea" |
|
There’s a lot of mackerel out there, but the mismatch between the scientifically agreed quota of 571,000 tons and the current take out of 830,000 tons is deeply worrying European fishermen. In the northwest Atlantic, scientists have been using egg surveys to assess mackerel abundance since the mid-1970s but those are only performed once every 3 years and are limited to a pre-defined area. Scientists have indicated that they are in need of more data than currently obtained from this 3-annual egg survey. Now, the main question raised is HOW to collect more relevant data by involving all available players? Aren't there other research methods available that can give us more information? For example, with so much traffic and activities in the European seas, can you think of a way to involve these ocean users to collect data in addition to scientific surveys? MareLife is currently negotiating possibilities with commercial fishermen and ferry vessel owners. |
|
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
