Norwegian Sea ecoregion – Fisheries overview

The largest landings in this ecoregion are by Norway, the Russian Federation (Russia henceforth), Faroe Islands, and Iceland, mainly by pelagic fisheries. Other nations also have fisheries in the area. The number of fishing vessels is declining while the size of the remaining vessels is increasing. The annual catch in the ecoregion has varied between 700 000 tonnes to over 2 million tonnes.

The pelagic fisheries, using purse seine and pelagic trawls, account for the largest catches by weight and target Norwegian spring-spawning (NSS) herring (her.27.1-24a514a), blue whiting (whb.27.1-91214), mackerel (mac.27.nea), and other pelagic species. The largest demersal fishery targets cod (cod.27.1-2), haddock (had.27.1-2), and saithe (pok.27.1-2) using bottom trawls, purse seine, Danish seine and gillnets, and to a lesser extent hook and line gear. Smaller fisheries target other gadoid species, Greenland halibut (ghl.27.1-2), and beaked redfish (reb.27.1-2). Landings of pelagic species within the ecoregion in the last decades have been variable. The demersal fisheries, dominated by cod, display less pronounced fluctuations than the pelagic fisheries. Information about discards is sparse, but the total weight of discards is considered low in both the pelagic and the demersal fisheries. Harp seals and minke whales are hunted in the region.

Status summary of Norwegian Sea stocks relative to the ICES maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach and precautionary approach (PA) is known for about 45% of the 22 stocks assessed by ICES in this ecoregion. Only 23% of the stocks are fished below FMSY, accounting for nearly 14% of the total catch. 32% of the stocks have a biomass above MSY B_trigger, accounting for 69% of the total catch. Demersal stocks have shown a trend of declining fishing mortality since the mid-1990s, followed by a sharp increase in 2019, largely driven by the exploitation pattern of redfish. In 2020 the average F/F_MSY ratio was close to 1. The mean SSB/MSY B_trigger ratio of demersal stocks has been decreasing over the last decade, but mean SSB remains above MSY B_trigger. The average F/F_MSY ratio for pelagic stocks has fluctuated around 1 since 2000 . The mean SSB/MSY B_trigger ratio for pelagic species has shown a slight increase over the last two decades followed by a recent sharp decline, but it remains above 1.

In addition to biomass removal, ecosystem effects of fisheries include abrasion, ghost fishing, and bycatch of protected, endangered, and threatened species.