Fishing in the North Sea

Fishing in the North Sea

Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters. The main method of fishing is trawling.

Annual catches grew each year until the 1980s, when a high point of more than 3 million metric tons (3.3 million S/T) was reached. Since then, the numbers have fallen back to around 2.3 million tons (2.5 million S/T) annually with considerable differences between years. Besides the fish caught, it is estimated that 150,000 metric tons (165,000 S/T) of unmarketable by-catch are caught and around 85,000 metric tons (94,000 S/T) of dead and injured invertebrates. [cite web
last =
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title =] ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH INQUIRY INTO THE SCOTTISH FISHING INDUSTRY
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url =http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/enquiries/scottishfisheries/evidence/IFFO_all.pdf
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accessdate = 2007-12-09
]

Of the caught fish, about half are used for the production of fish oil and fish meal. Important species of fish caught in the North Sea are mackerel, Atlantic cod, whiting, coalfish, European plaice, and sole. In addition, common shrimp, lobster, and crab, along with a variety of shellfish are harvested. [Citation
last =Greenpeace
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title =North Sea Fish Crisis part 1
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url =http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/cbio/crisis1.html
accessdate = 2007-07-19
]

Overfishing

In recent decades, overfishing has left many fisheries unproductive, disturbing the marine food chain dynamics and costing jobs in the fishing industry. [Clover, Charles. 2004. "The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat". Ebury Press, London. ISBN 0-09-189780-7 ] Herring, cod and plaice fisheries may soon face the same plight as mackerel fishing which ceased in the 1970s due to overfishing. [Citation
last =Summerschool on Coastal and Marine Management
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =Fisheries: North Sea
date =
year = 2005
url =http://www.ikzm-d.de/inhalt.php?page=54,941
accessdate = 2007-07-19
] Since the 1960s, various regulations have attempted to protect the stocks of fish such as limited fishing times and limited numbers of fishing boats, among other regulations. However, these rules were never systematically enforced and did not bring much relief. Since then, the United Kingdom and Denmark, two important fishing nations, became members of the EU, and have attempted, with the help of the Common Fisheries Policy, to bring the problem under control. [Citation
publisher = International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
first =
author-link =
last2 =
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author2-link =
title =North Sea Fish Stocks: Good and Bad News
date =18 October
year =2004
url =http://www.ospar.org/eng/doc/pdfs/R2C2.pdf
accessdate = 2007-07-19
]

Norway, not a member of the EU, has also reached an agreement with the European Community concerning fishing policy. Regional advisory committees meet with the EU to help enforce policy. [Citation
last =
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last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =The North Sea Commission
date =
year =2004
url =http://www.northsea.org/nsc_fisheries_partnership/documents/RAC_reports.htm
accessdate = 2007-07-19
]

In addition to threats due to food-chain disturbances, non-target species often wind up as victims of intense fishing. Sea turtles, dolphins, harbour porpoises, rays, and dozens of fish species are killed or injured by trawlers nets and beams. Denmark's trawler fishing alone accounts for the deaths of 5,000 porpoises a year. Trawling can also have a destructive effect on seabed habitats as the trawler beams drag along the floor can uproot plants and destroy reefs. [cite web
last =
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title =WWF | Smart Gear 2007
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date =
url =http://www.worldwildlife.org/oceans/projects/smartgear.cfm
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accessdate = 2007-12-09
]

All numbers from the FAO, cited by the University of British Columbia. For the FAO, the region "North Sea" includes Skagerrak and Kattegatcite web|url=http://saup.fisheries.ubc.ca/lme/SummaryInfo.aspx?LME=22|title=Fisheries Centre of the University of British Columbia]

Notes

References

* Ilyina, P Ilyina (2007) "The fate of persistent organic pollutants in the North Sea." Springer. ISBN 9783540681625)
* Karlsdóttir, Hrefna M (2005) "Fishing on common grounds : the consequences of unregulated fisheries of North Sea herring in the postwar period." ISBN 9185196622)


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