Effort regulation of the demersal fisheries at the Faroe Islands: a 10-year appraisal

Since 1996, the demersal fisheries for cod, haddock, and saithe in Faroese waters have been regulated by a combination of fishing licenses, effort quota (days fishing), and area closures. The number of days initially allocated aimed at exerting an average annual fishing mortality rate of 0.45 on each of the three species. Considering that these stocks are taken in mixed fisheries, it had been hypothesized that effort would be targeted at the most available species, resulting in lower fishing mortality on the less available species, allowing them to recover. We review ten years of experience with the management system with special focus on the underlying assumptions. Although the system appears to have achieved an appropriate balance in catch opportunities among the different fleet components and has minimized interference among gears, the objective of controlling fishing mortality on cod and saithe below the stated objective has not been achieved, partly because the original number of days allocated to fishing was too high. Also, there is no evidence that fleets switch target species according to relative abundance of all three species, which was one of the underlying assumptions of the effort management system. In view of the impact of major changes in productivity on stock development and exploitation, the current system cannot be expected to ensure spawning-stock biomasses above safe biological limits without a large reduction in the number of days allocated.