Research and analysis

Catch Quota Trials: North Sea cod 2013 final report

Final report from the 2013 trials showing discards of stocks have been drastically reduced by North Sea fishermen.

• From: Marine Management Organisation
• Published: 11 August 2014

Documents

Catch Quota Trials: North Sea cod 2013 final report

PDF, 705 KB, 25 pages

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Details

The report details how catch quota management is proving a successful, alternative method of managing fisheries.

The MMO is operating the catch quota trials on behalf of Defra as part of the UK’s initiative to tackle the problem of discarding fish – where fish are thrown away at sea if they are too small or there is no quota left for a particular species. The trials encourage fishermen to fish more selectively and land all of what they catch.

Vessels taking part were awarded additional quota for North Sea cod and had an obligation to land and count all catches of cod against quota. They were also fitted with electronic monitoring systems with CCTV to observe and record fishing activity.

Results for the 2013 trials show an overall estimated discard rate of North Sea cod of 0.03% (496kg) from a total sampled catch of 1452 tonnes.

Published 11 August 2014