The Norwegian Maritime Research Institute proposes that the maximum catch limit for cod for the next fishing year will not be more than 201,674 tonnes. That is a 1% decrease from the current fishing year. This was stated at the organization’s briefing on advice for the next fishing year which starts on September 1st.
This is the second year in a row that the Norwegian Fisheries Agency recommends that the cod quota be reduced, but for the fishing year 2025/2026 the reduction was 4%. In the fishing year before that, the advice was for a 1% increase, but then it was also stated that the organization is preparing for a recession in the coming years. It is clear that those predictions have come true.
In the presentation of the Norwegian Marine Research Institute, it was stated that it is not expected that the total catch of cod will increase in the coming years, but it is noted that it probably will not decrease much either. However, the cohorts of 2021 and 2022 are said to be among the smallest in eight years.
Also, the average weights of 4- to 8-year-old cod in the spring rally are now among the lowest ever recorded. Less hairy has been seen in cod stomachs during the spring rally in the past 3 years. At the same time, the number of woolly newcomers, measured in the autumn of the previous year, has been small. The institute therefore believes that part of the decrease in cod is due to a lower quantity of shad over the past three years.
20% reduction in haddock and 16% in pollock
The haddock goes down steeply, but the Norwegian Fisheries Research Institute states that no more than 63,206 of haddock will be provided. It is a 20% decrease from the current fishing year and a big change from last year, but in the agency’s advice in 2025, haddock advice increased by 3%
The decline is reported to be due to the size of the reference stock, which includes haddock of 45 centimeters and larger, having declined since it peaked in 2024. Less recruitment occurred in 2022-2024. The population is not expected to grow next year, but the 2025 cohort is expected to be relatively large.
Halibut falls by 16% from the current fishing year, and the advisory targets a total allowable catch of 49,887 tons. Gold basket advice, however, increases by 5%.
81% increase in shad but decrease in summer spawning herring
It is worth noting that hairy advice rises significantly, or by 81%. It is proposed that the catch limit will be 358,044 tons. The advice will be updated for next season when the organization’s autumn measurement has taken place.
The catch limit for Icelandic summer spawning herring, on the other hand, drops by 22% and is advised at 80,307 tonnes. It is not expected that the population size will change much next year, but there is some uncertainty in the population estimate, due to problems with echo measurements, among other things.
The news has been updated with information on more stocks than cod and haddock.
