The board of directors of Russia’s fishery scientific institutes has approved the country’s total allowable catch (TAC) for 2020 at just over three million metric tons (MT), nearly identical to the current year’s total.
A proposal for the TAC was submitted by the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) and its 28 regional branches to the head of the Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries, Ilya Shestakov.
In general, the TAC for 2020 is identical to the one set for 2018, which was 3.389 million MT, 92.17 percent of which was caught. Over the last 10 years, the national TAC varied from 2.76 million MT to 3.21 million MT.
There are a few variations to 2019. According to VNIRO Director Kirill Kolonchin, an increase is being considered for the Far Eastern fishery, after scientific advice recommended increasing the quota for Pacific herring, navaga, fluke, shrimp, cod, and pollock.
The largest controversy surrounding the proposed TACs for individual species revolved around pollock. Several of Russia’s pollock-fishing companies have called for a more cautionary approach in setting the TAC for the species, with Sergey Kislov, a fishing boat captain and manager of the Kamchatka-based Okeanrybflot company saying he “absolutely” disagreed with the proposed figure for the 2020 pollock TAC, Fishnews reported.
The proposed TAC for pollock in 2020 is 1.833 million MT, 24,000 MT higher than for 2019. The Federal Agency for Fisheries has proposed an increase in the TAC for pollock caught in the Sea of Okhotsk, the main fishing area for the species, as well as initiating quota-free pollock fishing in the Chuckchi Sea.
Kislov countered that sustainable pollock-fishing levels in Far Eastern waters have been maintained by a “very careful and prudent” TAC, and that any increase in the TAC will result in overfishing. The hikes in catch in 2018 and 2019 were caused not by additional volumes in the stocks, but by additional working hours of fishing vessels, he said.
Several indicators show the need for a more cautious quota, Kislov said. The stocks have become more dispersed and distributed over a larger area, and the size of species has decreased over recent years. That’s requiring fishermen to spend more resources to locate pollock and catch it, he said.
As SeafoodSource previously reported, Russian authorities had been considering a reduction in pollock quota in prior years.
In regard to other species, the TAC for Pacific cod is set to rise to 185,750 MT, which is 7,450 MT more than in 2018, while the TAC for Pacific herring will increase by 74,500 MT, to 356,400 MT.
Stock of pike perch in the Volga Caspian fishery basin has recovered, making it possible to raise the quota for that species twofold, to 1,200 MT, scientists said.
The proposed TACs are set for a further scientific evaluation by supervisory government bodies over the summer, with final figures and approval expected by the Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries in the fall.
