The remaining part of catches originate largely from the somewhat smaller stocks found off Iceland, in the Barents Sea and the North Sea. Shrimp spawn in the whole distributional area. Spawning occurs in autumn, and the females carry the eggs until spring when the eggs hatch. The duration of egg development increases with increase in latitude. After hatching the larvae occur in the surface layers (5-20m). During this pelagic phase (40-80 days) the larvae undergo six mounts before they settle on the bottom as “proper shrimp”.
Fishery in the Barents Sea and the Svalbard zone
The Norwegian shrimp fishery in the Barents Sea and the Svalbard zone started in 1970. Russian vessels entered the fishery in 1974. The yield increased continuously until 1984, when it reached 128 thousand tons. By that time, vessels from other countries had also entered the fishery. Since then, biomass and yield levels have fluctuated according to cod consumption and effort in the fisheries. The yield peaked at over 80 thousand tons in 1990 and in 2000 but has decreased since to approximately 40 thousand tons in the years 2003 – 2005. The catch in 2006 was approximately 31 thousand tons. The most important fishing ground is the Hopen area in the central Barents Sea.
Nations that are permitted to fish for shrimp in the Svalbard zone are: Canada, the EU, the Faeroes, Greenland, Iceland, Russia and Norway. Estonia and especially Lithuania are also active in this fishery, but as new EU members they now enjoy access through the Union.
The first vessels using double trawls entered the fishery in 1996. Since then, the efficiency has increased continuously, and in 2002 approximately 35 Norwegian vessels had the technology to use double or even triple trawls. Since 2002, the majority of the yield is taken by double trawl. High engine fuel costs combined with low prices in first hand have the latest years given low profitability for the fishing fleet.
Fishery in the North Sea
This resource yields annual landings of around 14 000 tonnes by vessels from Denmark (about 25 %), Sweden (about 15 %), and Norway (about 60 %). The fishery is conducted by multi-purpose fishing vessels (20-100 GRT) largely trawling south of 62ºN. Total Norwegian landings have increased from about six thousand tons in 2000 to eight thousand tons in 2006. About 35 % of the catch is landed as boiled, fresh shrimp (size: 140-150 shrimp per kg) for local markets in Norway and Sweden. The rest goes to factory processing ashore (about 180-250 shrimp per kg), however at a significantly lower price.
Regulations and by-catches
The fishery is regulated by effort control. Licences are required for the Russian and Norwegian vessels, and third-country fleets operating in the Svalbard zone are regulated by the number of effective fishing days and the number of vessels by country. The minimum stretched mesh size is 35 mm. Other species are protected by mandatory sorting grids and by the temporary closing of areas with excessive bycatch of juvenile cod, haddock, Greenland halibut, redfish, and shrimp <15 mm carapace length.
The shrimp fishery in the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard was first regulated in 1996. This was done because the expansion of the fishery over the previous few years and the growing size of the fleet had resulted in concern that the stock might be overexploited. The allocation of fishing days in the regulations adopted is a number of fishing days by the relevant states. In the Svalbard zone, fisheries are regulated in terms of the number of fishing days allocated to individual countries. The number of fishing days for 2006 was reduced by 30 % down to 5795 days from 1 January 2006. The recruitment to the stock is secured from closure of shrimp-trawling fishing grounds when shrimp smaller than the minimum size of 60 mm exceeds 10 % by weight shrimp in catches from that fishing ground.
Measures aimed at preventing the bycatch and harvesting of recruitment year classes
Young cod, haddock, redfish and Greenland halibut of the Northeast Arctic stocks are caught as bycatch in the shrimp fisheries in the Barents Sea. Especially one and two year old cod is subject to the shrimp fishery due to overlapping in the distribution of shrimp and cod in the central area of the Barents Sea and around Svalbard. Cod bycatch has been regulated by area closures since 1983.
Bycatch is regulated by means of the compulsory use of separation grids and by closing fishing grounds on which the proportion of fry is greater than a given threshold value. In 2007, the threshold values for the closure of shrimp-trawling grounds are as follows: eight individual cod below the minimum size per 10 kg shrimp, 20 individual haddock below the minimum size per 10 kg shrimp, three individual redfish less than 32 cm in length per 10 kg shrimp, three individual Greenland halibut below the minimum size per 10 kg shrimp and up to 10 % by weight shrimp below the minimum size.
The fishing fleet fishing in the North Sea is restricted by a maximum number of bycatch of undersized cod or haddock and of undersized shrimp. Minimum mesh size in the trawl is 35 mm and discarding is not allowed. The fishery is catch regulated by individual vessel quotas.
Stock status and setting of quotas
Barents Sea
The stock estimates have varied above the BMSY level throughout the history of the fishery. Biomass at the end of 2006 is estimated to be well above BMSY and fishing mortality well below FMSY.
The advice for 2006 was to keep catches at the recent average (40 000 tons). For 2007 the advice is based on a long-term simulation approach which indicates that a catch of 50 000 tons gives a low risk of exceeding Flim or going below Blim. ICES advice the TAC for 2007 should not be set higher than 50 000 tons.
There is no overall management system for Barents Sea Pandalus fishery. Norway does not set a TAC for shrimp, but this does not mean that the fishery is free and open on this stock. Norway regulates the shrimp fishery by means of a strict licensing system in the Barents Sea and a restrictive policy regarding number of fishing days in the Svalbard Fishery Protection Zone (SFPZ). The effort regulations are restrictive for third countries fishing in the SFPZ. In the Russian zone a TAC is applicable.
North Sea
Because the stock appears to be at a relatively high level and recent catches have apparently been sustainable, ICES recommends that the total landings in the 2007 are not increased above the recent average landings (2003–2005) of 14 000 tons.
Management plan evaluations by ICES
The risk profile associated with ten-year projections of stock development assuming annual catches of 50, 70, and 90 kt indicates that for all options the risk of the stock falling below Bmsy in the short to medium term (1–5 years) is below 11%. The stock has a less than 1% risk of being below Blim and none of these catch options are likely to increase that risk above 5% over a 10-year period. Catch levels of 70 and 90 kt imply probabilities of exceeding Flim that are above 5%.
Fishery in the North Sea
This resource yields annual landings of around 14 000 tonnes by vessels from Denmark (about 25 %), Sweden (about 15 %), and Norway (about 60 %). The fishery is conducted by multi-purpose fishing vessels (20-100 GRT) largely trawling south of 62ºN. Total Norwegian landings have increased from about six thousand tons in 2000 to eight thousand tons in 2006. About 35 % of the catch is landed as boiled, fresh shrimp (size: 140-150 shrimp per kg) for local markets in Norway and Sweden. The rest goes to factory processing ashore (about 180-250 shrimp per kg), however at a significantly lower price.
Regulations and by-catches
The fishery is regulated by effort control. Licences are required for the Russian and Norwegian vessels, and third-country fleets operating in the Svalbard zone are regulated by the number of effective fishing days and the number of vessels by country. The minimum stretched mesh size is 35 mm. Other species are protected by mandatory sorting grids and by the temporary closing of areas with excessive bycatch of juvenile cod, haddock, Greenland halibut, redfish, and shrimp <15 mm carapace length.
The shrimp fishery in the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard was first regulated in 1996. This was done because the expansion of the fishery over the previous few years and the growing size of the fleet had resulted in concern that the stock might be overexploited. The allocation of fishing days in the regulations adopted is a number of fishing days by the relevant states. In the Svalbard zone, fisheries are regulated in terms of the number of fishing days allocated to individual countries. The number of fishing days for 2006 was reduced by 30 % down to 5795 days from 1 January 2006. The recruitment to the stock is secured from closure of shrimp-trawling fishing grounds when shrimp smaller than the minimum size of 60 mm exceeds 10 % by weight shrimp in catches from that fishing ground.
Measures aimed at preventing the bycatch and harvesting of recruitment year classes
Young cod, haddock, redfish and Greenland halibut of the Northeast Arctic stocks are caught as bycatch in the shrimp fisheries in the Barents Sea. Especially one and two year old cod is subject to the shrimp fishery due to overlapping in the distribution of shrimp and cod in the central area of the Barents Sea and around Svalbard. Cod bycatch has been regulated by area closures since 1983.
Bycatch is regulated by means of the compulsory use of separation grids and by closing fishing grounds on which the proportion of fry is greater than a given threshold value. In 2007, the threshold values for the closure of shrimp-trawling grounds are as follows: eight individual cod below the minimum size per 10 kg shrimp, 20 individual haddock below the minimum size per 10 kg shrimp, three individual redfish less than 32 cm in length per 10 kg shrimp, three individual Greenland halibut below the minimum size per 10 kg shrimp and up to 10 % by weight shrimp below the minimum size.
The fishing fleet fishing in the North Sea is restricted by a maximum number of bycatch of undersized cod or haddock and of undersized shrimp. Minimum mesh size in the trawl is 35 mm and discarding is not allowed. The fishery is catch regulated by individual vessel quotas.
Stock status and setting of quotas
Barents Sea
The stock estimates have varied above the BMSY level throughout the history of the fishery. Biomass at the end of 2006 is estimated to be well above BMSY and fishing mortality well below FMSY.
The advice for 2006 was to keep catches at the recent average (40 000 tons). For 2007 the advice is based on a long-term simulation approach which indicates that a catch of 50 000 tons gives a low risk of exceeding Flim or going below Blim. ICES advice the TAC for 2007 should not be set higher than 50 000 tons.
There is no overall management system for Barents Sea Pandalus fishery. Norway does not set a TAC for shrimp, but this does not mean that the fishery is free and open on this stock. Norway regulates the shrimp fishery by means of a strict licensing system in the Barents Sea and a restrictive policy regarding number of fishing days in the Svalbard Fishery Protection Zone (SFPZ). The effort regulations are restrictive for third countries fishing in the SFPZ. In the Russian zone a TAC is applicable.
North Sea
Because the stock appears to be at a relatively high level and recent catches have apparently been sustainable, ICES recommends that the total landings in the 2007 are not increased above the recent average landings (2003–2005) of 14 000 tons.
Management plan evaluations by ICES
The risk profile associated with ten-year projections of stock development assuming annual catches of 50, 70, and 90 kt indicates that for all options the risk of the stock falling below Bmsy in the short to medium term (1–5 years) is below 11%. The stock has a less than 1% risk of being below Blim and none of these catch options are likely to increase that risk above 5% over a 10-year period. Catch levels of 70 and 90 kt imply probabilities of exceeding Flim that are above 5%.
Shrimp in the Barents Sea
Estimated risk of exceeding Flim (upper panel) or going below Bmsy (middle panel) and Blim (lower panel) for the period 1970–2006 (greyed area) and future (coloured area) until 2016. Projections are shown for 3 optional catches 50 (green), 70 (yellow), and 90 kt/year (red). The dotted line is at 2006.
North Sea
A new model to assess the state of the stock, which included risk analyses, was introduced by IMR and approved by a joint ICES/NAFO assessment group in 2005. The model indicated low risk of the stock being over-fished at the current fishing intensity and that the stock is stable at a high level well above precautionary reference limits. Thus there is a high probability that stock can sustain larger catches than the current level of around 14000 tons.
Definitions
BMSY
Biomass at MSY. Biomass corresponding to Maximum Sustainable Yield from a production model or from an age-based analysis using a stock recruitment model. Often used as a biological reference point in fisheries management, it is the calculated long-term average biomass value expected if fishing at FMSY.
FMSY
The fishing mortality rate which, if applied constantly, would result in Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). Used as a biological reference point, FMSY is the implicit fishing mortality target of many regional and national fishery management authorities and organizations.