The NFFO, in collaboration with the North Sea Regional Advisory Council and other Fishermen’s representative bodies, is again running the North Sea Stocks Survey that invites fishermen to contribute their knowledge on the status and trends in stocks subject to TACs.
The survey has now been running since 2003.
The survey is increasingly regarded by ICES scientists as an invaluable contribution in guiding their advice, which in turn is used to steer the management decisions which set the annual TACs.
It is the local knowledge that is recorded in a systematic way, highlighting the regional trends and issues in the fisheries, that makes the survey so valuable. Responses to last year’s questionnaire are showing the large increase in abundance in Whiting off the North East coast which has been factored into this year’s advice, and will be important in building the case for the industry in management negotiations later this year. In the context of the Cod Recovery Plan, fishermen reflecting upon their experiences will also be particularly valuable this year in assessing the effects of the 25% reduction in effort in the North Sea.
