FACTSHEET - Shrimp Fishing in Icelandic Waters
Ministry of Fisheries, Iceland
FACTSHEET
Shrimp Fishing in Icelandic Waters
The shrimp caught in Icelandic water is of the species Pandalus borealis. No other shrimp species are caught or processed in Iceland, nor is there any farmed shrimp.
Shrimp is caught primarily to the north of Iceland, i.e. deepwater shrimp, and in eight fjords in the west and north of the country, i.e. inshore shrimp. Deepwater shrimp fishing is pursued throughout the year, while the fishing season for inshore shrimp is generally from 1 October to 1 May.
The deepwater shrimp fishery is managed as a single entity, while for fishing of inshore shrimp each area is managed separately. This means that a stock biomass assessment is compiled for each of these shrimp stocks every year and the total allowable catch (TAC) for each of them decided based upon it. Since the size of the Icelandic shrimp stocks is primarily dependent upon fishing mortality and predation, by cod, and fluctuates considerably, the catch varies as well, as is indicated in Table I.
Table I. Deepwater and inshore shrimp – TAC and catches by fishing year (tonnes).
Generally speaking, fisheries management in Icelandic waters is comprised of two main elements. On the one hand, there are rules concerning fishing, i.e. access to areas is conditional upon vessel size and fishing gear, special devices for the gear, and mesh size. Closures are also imposed on fishing areas to protect juvenile fish, or during the spawning periods of specific species. On the other hand a system of Individual Transferable Quotas, or ITQs, is used, under which each vessel is allocated an annual catch quota from the TAC of specific species in proportion to that vessel's quota share for the species. Catch quotas for individual species can be transferred between vessels, and to a certain degree between fishing years. Vessels that catch a species they are not targeting can thus obtain for themselves a catch quota for the species. This means it does not comprise by-catch in the sense that it is catch which the vessel is not permitted to fish and is therefore discarded.
Fisheries supervision is the responsibility of the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Directorate of Fisheries. The Coast Guard looks after traditional surveillance of catches and fishing gear by boarding vessels on the fishing banks. The Directorate of Fisheries can place inspectors aboard vessels if there is considered to be reason to monitor especially certain fishing, areas or vessels. The Directorate of Fisheries also monitors the composition of landed catches.
Shrimp fishing is carried out using a shrimp trawl with small mesh, i.e. 36 mm. For deepwater shrimp fishing, fishing gear must be outfitted with special equipment, a finfish excluder (Nordmore grate), intended to skim off all fish out of the trawl while it is towed. This device is extremely effective and vessels pursuing deepwater shrimp end up with no fish in their trawls. In those areas where juvenile shrimp are most likely to be caught, they also have to have devices for their fishing gear which exclude juvenile shrimp from the trawls. This may be either a special juvenile shrimp excluder or a 40 mm square mesh net in large part of the codend.
Inshore shrimp is caught by small vessels, many of which have difficulty in using a Nordmore grate. They are exempted from the requirement of using a Nordmore grate but must, on the other hand, use a square mesh net in the codend. In the inshore areas juvenile fish older than one year of age usually stay farther out in the fjords than do the shrimp. Surveillance of inshore shrimp fishing places its main emphasis on monitoring the mix of juvenile fish in the catch, as it is known that when 0-group fish are plentiful they are not all excluded even if a square mesh net in the codend is used. If large numbers of young fish are present in catches, or 900 or more of so-called juvenile units per 1000 kg of shrimp, the fishing area concerned is closed and will not be reopened until surveys show that juvenile fish is below the reference level in the area in question. One juvenile unit is e.g. one 0-group cod or 1-year-old cod (5-15 cm) during the period January-April, while a two-year-old cod (31-45 cm) is 2.5 units. The fishing season for inshore shrimp is from 1 October to 1 May. Fishing areas are not opened for fishing, however, until a survey has shown that the numbers of juvenile fish in the catch is below the reference level.
Special devices on fishing gear ensure that catch of other species than shrimp is practically none and what little there is, is caught in the inshore fishery. During the 2000/2001 fishing year catch of non-target species totalled 36.5 tonnes, primarily cod.
The aim of the management of the shrimp fishing in Iceland is achieving sustainable utilisation of the shrimp stocks, ensure that the fishing does not negatively impact other species, or over-exploit the shrimp stock itself.
Further information on Icelandic fisheries is available on the website www.fisheries.is
Ministry of Fisheries, 13 March 2003