Bioeconomic Analysis of By-Catch of Juvenile Fish in the Shrimp Fisheries – an Evaluation of Management Procedures in the Barents Sea

A bioeconomic model on the management ofby-catch of juvenile fish in the shrimp fisheryin the Barents Sea and the Svalbard Zone,presented by the Norwegian Directorate ofFisheries to the Joint Norwegian RussianFisheries Commission in 1993, is evaluated. The model is based on management of by-catchthrough closure of areas when the by-catch ofjuvenile fish from commercially importantspecies exceeds a critical number. It isargued that although the model may prove usefulin bringing economic rationale into themanagement of by-catch, care must be taken whenstocks are in poor shape. This is illustratedby using the high mortality rates and low stocklevels experienced for cod and haddock in 2000,and which is expected for the next couple ofyears. It is therefore discussed when it isappropriate to use the model with reference tothe Code of Conduct provided by FAO in 1995. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004