SCIENTISTS ASSESS BALTIC FISHING OPPORTUNITIES

Scientists assess Baltic fishing opportunities. Experts are preparing justifications for the allowable catch in the Baltic Sea, Curonian and Kaliningrad (Vistula) bays for the next year, reports Fishnews. The stock of East Baltic cod is at a historically low level. The resources of herring and sprat required a slight reduction in TAC.

The Scientific Council of the Atlantic Branch of VNIRO (AtlantNIRO) reviewed the materials of the total allowable catch for 2022.

It was noted that the size of the East Baltic cod stock is at a historically minimal level. Along with a decrease in the size of the attainment of sexual maturity of individuals, the limited spatial distribution of fish within a stock unit, the natural mortality of the species increased due to the infection of the liver with parasites and predation of seals. The hydrological conditions of the Baltic Sea that have developed in recent years limit the spawning water volume for cod. All this led to a decrease in the TAC of the species for the coming year, the AtlantNIRO press service told Fishnews.

Stocks of Baltic herring (Baltic herring) and sprat (sprat) in the Baltic Sea are within biologically safe limits and in a state of full reproductive capacity, but tend to decline slightly. In this regard, TACs for 2022 for these facilities are slightly reduced compared to the indicator in 2021.

Commercial stocks of river flounder and Atlantic salmon have not undergone significant changes in recent years.

In the Curonian and Kaliningrad (Vistula) bays, the experts assessed the state of stocks of the main commercial objects (bream, pike perch, sabrefish, roach) as satisfactory. The biological characteristics of aquatic organisms are at the average long-term level. The forecast volumes of TAC for 2022 for most resources correspond to the indicators of previous years. This will allow for stable fishing in reservoirs, noted in AtlantNIRO.

Source: www.fishnews.ru