Icelandic Minister of Fisheries Kristján Thór Júlíusson has followed the advice of the Marine Research Institute in setting fishing limits for the 2021-22 quota year, beginning 1st September, which includes making a substantial cut in the cod quota.
“It’s no secret that a 13% reduction in the cod quota is a disappointment, but the reason is that there are two weak year classes among the reference stock,” he said.
“Under such circumstances, there is no question of following a short-term viewpoint by ignoring the scientific advice. We shouldn’t forget that the cod and other key stocks are strong, and the 2019 and 2020 year classes are better than average.”
He commented that there is good reason to be confident for the longer-term future.
“This situation demonstrates the success that has been achieved in building up the cod and other stocks in recent years,” he said.
The Marine Research Institute had advised a 13% reduction in the cod catch for 2021-22, on the basis that the stock size had been overestimated. The haddock allocation is reduced from 50,429 tonnes to 41,229 tonnes, as 8000 tonnes had already been brought forward to the current quota year from next years’s quota.
There are minimal changes to quotas for most other stocks.
The big increase is in the quota for Icelandic summer-spawning herring, which is increased by 104% to 72,239 tonnes. Quotas for other pelagic stocks will not be set until the end of the year.
