Fisheries (terminated in Statistics Norway), 2009, preliminary figures

The catch of blue whiting and sandeel went down considerably, while the amount of capelin, Norway pout and Greenland halibut increased.

The herring catch came to 483 000 tonnes in the first six months of 2009; about the same as in the corresponding period last year. Landed value of herring increased by 13 per cent to NOK 1.1 billion. This corresponds to 34 per cent of the total catch and 20 per cent of the total landed value.

Cod most important

Measured by the landed value of catch, cod fishing is still the most important of fisheries. Nevertheless, the landed value decreased by 33 per cent to NOK 1.8 billion in the first six months of 2009. The cod catch came to 157 000 tonnes, down 3 per cent from the same period last year, and the cod accounted for 11 per cent of the total catch quantity and 34 per cent of the catch value.

In 2009, capelin catch in the Barents Sea was legal, and the catch of capelin increased from 40 000 tonnes in the first six months of 2008 to 230 000 tonnes in the same period this year. This accounted for 17 per cent of the total catch quantity.

The catch of blue whiting decreased by 45 per cent to 219 000 tonnes, and accounted for 16 per cent of the total catch in the first six months of 2008.

A total of 72 per cent of the total catch was used for consumption, while 28 per cent was used for meal, oil, animal feed etc. Almost the entire catch of sand eel, 79 per cent of blue whiting catch and 33 per cent of the capelin catch were delivered for this production in the first six months of 2009.