Fishing pressure on cod and haddock stable despite significant reductions in fishing days in Faroe Islands

The fishing pressure on cod and haddock has remained relatively stable from 1997 to 2023, excluding fluctuations, according to Havstovan.

However, there is currently no organized and updated material that describes the fishing potential and capacity of the fleet within the fishing day regulations from 1997 to present.

This statement comes from Dennis Holm, the Minister of Fisheries, in response to parliamentary inquiries from Bárður á Lakjuni regarding fishing days, protected areas, closed fishing periods, and fishing pressure.

Moreover, there are no available statistics on catch shares or trawling hours on the continental shelf for last year or during the 1997-98 fishing year.

Trawlers experienced 411 fewer fishing days last year compared to 1997-98.

In total, trawlers had 411 fewer fishing days in 2023 than in 1997-98, while large longline vessels recorded 681 fewer days, and small boats saw a reduction of 22,304 fishing days.

It is important to note that the categories were somewhat different in 1997-98 compared to today. The number of fishing vessels over 15 tons in the fishing day system has also significantly decreased since then.

Dennis Holm reiterated that currently, there are no updated surveys available that could provide a better foundation for describing the status and trends within the fishing day regulations.