Annual meeting of NAFO maintains stability of quotas available for Spanish fleet

The meeting confirmed the good levels of stocks and the suitable management of these stocks, and stressed the stability of the quotas available for the Spanish fleet.

The adjustments to the quotas made there were based on all the cases included in NAFO's scientific recommendations.

Quotas for Spanish fleet

Among the stocks of greatest interest for the Spanish fleet, NAFO decided to slightly increase the cod quota in Division 3M by 1%, from a global quota of 13,795 metric tonnes to 13,931 metric tonnes.

The first scientific report suggested a 10% reduction for 2016 and an increase in 2017, but the final decision, thanks to the good work of the committee, with the support of the Spanish delegation, was approved to maintain the average TAC (total allowable catch) for both years, which will thus help avoid any strong variation. This guarantees stability to the fleet in the TAC for two years until the next full assessment, which will be made in 2017.

The parties also agreed to hold a specific meeting on this resource to analyse the parameters that regulate this catch and thus guarantee its sustainability in the long term.

In the case of Greenland halibut in the Divisions 3KLMNO, the rule on Monitoring Catches contained in the recovery plan has been applied, which, for this year, means a slight decline of 5%, which may be reinstated in the coming years if stock levels rise again.

The rest of the stocks of interest for Spain have maintained their quotas from the previous year or increased slightly: 7,000 tonnes of redfish in Division 3M, representing a total increase of 500 metric tonnes, meaning that the Spanish quota rises to 251 metric tonnes, (although the fleet can fish a higher volume given the current system of access), 20,000 tonnes of redfish in Division 3O (of which 1,771 correspond to Spain), 7,000 tonnes of skate (of which 3,403 correspond to Spain), and 1,000 tonnes of white hake (of which 255 correspond to the Spanish fleet).

It should be pointed out that for the latter two stocks, the committee's initial scientific proposal was to reduce the TAC to adapt it to the average catches, which would have seriously prejudiced the Spanish fleet, and hence the agreement to maintain the quotas is good news for the sector.

For the time being, the fishing of alfonsino in Management Zone 6 remains unregulated, and hence the Spanish vessels that habitually fish for this species may continue to do so without restrictions. Spain advocated the need to acknowledge the activity exercised by its vessels as an essential requirement for regulating fishing, which led the parties to allow more time to assess, as a whole, the right to access and the relevant regulatory measures.

Increase to NAFO protected zones

It was also decreed to close down fishing activities in the underwater mountains present in the regulation zone since they are areas of importance for vulnerable marine eco-systems, thus increasing the protected zones of NAFO, and hence ensuring that it becomes a leading regional organisation on this issue.

A large part of the information on which these protective measures are based has been obtained thanks to the research campaigns carried out in previous years by the Spanish Oceanographic Institute.