Abstract
Current activities within the institutes of several members of WGFTFB suggest that dynamic catch control is an important issue for several fisheries worldwide. Exces-sive catches are an acknowledged problem that result in increased mortality, reduced fish quality, and minimized fishing opportunities. Solutions pertaining to catch con-trol are required by the authorities and fishers of different countries.
Several countries have conducted or are planning significant studies in this field but major improvements to the solutions presented are still needed. The creation of such a group would improve the cooperation between countries and institutes and would act as a SharePoint for the progress in the field.
Excessive catches are a problem, first of all because they often exceed the processing capacity of the vessel and consequently affect the quality of the fish delivered. In fisheries supplying fish for aquaculture where the fish needs to be taken onboard alive, excessive catches present an additional problem because of the lower survival chances of the fish when excessive amounts of fish are caught. In addition, excessive catch amount can lead to serious health, safety and environmental (H.S.E) concerns. In individual or group quota fisheries, excessively large catch can lead to diminished fishing opportunity for other species.
Excessive catches have so far been related to trawls, Danish seines and purse-seines, which demonstrates that this is a global problem in fisheries. Solutions for such a global issue will contribute to more responsible fisheries worldwide and reduced unaccounted fishing mortality through the reduction of discards.
Several countries have conducted or are planning significant studies in this field but major improvements to the solutions presented are still needed. The creation of such a group would improve the cooperation between countries and institutes and would act as a SharePoint for the progress in the field.
Excessive catches are a problem, first of all because they often exceed the processing capacity of the vessel and consequently affect the quality of the fish delivered. In fisheries supplying fish for aquaculture where the fish needs to be taken onboard alive, excessive catches present an additional problem because of the lower survival chances of the fish when excessive amounts of fish are caught. In addition, excessive catch amount can lead to serious health, safety and environmental (H.S.E) concerns. In individual or group quota fisheries, excessively large catch can lead to diminished fishing opportunity for other species.
Excessive catches have so far been related to trawls, Danish seines and purse-seines, which demonstrates that this is a global problem in fisheries. Solutions for such a global issue will contribute to more responsible fisheries worldwide and reduced unaccounted fishing mortality through the reduction of discards.
