In August, following the advice of the Icelandic Marine Institute (MRI), Iceland increased its haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) quota for the new fishing year that runs from this month through next August.
Iceland’s quota for the 2013/14 fishing season is 38,000 metric tons (MT), up from 32,000 MT last year. While the total allowable catch (TAC) is significantly lower than the 64,000 MT set in 2010, it reverses the recent trend of reduced quotas, which were introduced as a result of poor recruitment within the stock.
Historically, the country’s annual haddock catches have varied from 30,000 to 70,000 MT.
The MRI was not expected to recommend an increase in the TAC for at least another season and so it comes as a welcome surprise for many involved in the country’s whitefish sector. Furthermore, the increase is not expected to spark a reduction in prices because the TAC increase is fairly small, according to processors, a number of whom also believe that the haddock TAC will be reduced again once the 2007 and older year-classes disappear from the stocks.
The United Kingdom is the No. 1 export market for Icelandic haddock, accounting for about two-thirds of production. Haddock exports there are divided into four main product categories: whole (head-on gutted) fresh fish, which is primarily transported in containers to auction markets; fresh fillets or specially-cut portions, such as loins, which are either transported by air or by containership directly to retail or foodservice customers; frozen products, including FAS fillets; and lastly, other processed formats such as salted and dried products.
Meanwhile, much less of a surprise is Iceland’s increased TAC for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Based on MRI’s advice, the cod quota has once again been ramped up for the new season — this time by 18,000 MT to 214,000 MT.
Iceland’s cod stocks are believed to be at their highest level since the mid-1980s.
Unlike haddock, the larger cod quota will undoubtedly exert additional downward pressure on market prices, which are already at lows not seen for well over a decade. Icelandic cod is competing with Barents Sea cod, particularly of Norwegian origin, which have been caught and exported in record numbers over the past few years based upon the recommended TACs from the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
Iceland recently reported its earnings from cod catches fell more than 9 percent in the first four months of this year, while the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) has stated that Norway had never before exported as much cod as it did in the first half of 2013, but also that it hadn’t seen prices as low since 1997.
Unfortunately, for their respective whitefish industries, the low cod prices look set to continue. While the actual Barents Sea quota won’t be set until October, ICES has already recommended an unprecedented TAC of 993,000 MT for 2014. ICES’ advice represents just a 5.4 percent rise over the current 940,000 MT quota, which is a much more modest increase compared to recent years, and yet there were many close to the industry who had expected a reduction this time around.
With TAC decreases not possible until 2015 at the earliest, new cod markets are needed now more than ever.
