Iceland has just announced a seven per cent reduction in its annual haddock quote for the new fishing year which starts in September.

The new annual catch limit, recommended by the Marine Research Institute, will be 93,000 tonnes, instead of 100,000 tonnes.

The revised quota, which was largely unexpected, follows last week's announcement that the annual cod quota is to remain unchanged at 130,000 tonnes.

The news will disappoint buyers and processors in the UK who are are heavy users of haddock. Some merchants they fear it will lead to a further upward movement in prices. Haddock is now replacing cod in many UK retail products, especially ready meals. However, the reduction is less severe than was first feared and is not thought to have any long term serious impact on availability.

The main problem for fishermen is that cod and haddock generally swim together and are not easy to separate, creating by-catch problems for skippers. This year Icelandic fishermen will face tougher rules on the quota transfer of one species to another. Some would like to see catch quotas replaced by restrictions on the number of fishing days and by closing key fishing areas at certain times. This system is used in the Faroe Islands and generally preferred by trawler companies and their crews.Iceland has also reduced its annual saithe (coley) catch by 10,000 tonnes.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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