Whiting ( Merlangius merlangus) is caught all year round, mainly in mixed demersal fisheries with some bycatch taken in the industrial fisheries. It's found throughout the North Sea, but is known to occur exclusively in some localised areas.
| 2011 position: | UK share 8,933 tonnes |
| Last year: | 7,391 tonnes |
| Landed into Scotland in 2009: | 7,096 tonnes |
| Value for 2009: | £7.1 million |
MSY and Precautionary Approach Reference Points
| Type | Value |
MSY Approach | MSY Btrigger | Undefined |
FMSY | Undefined |
Precautionary Approach | Blim | Undefined |
Bpa | Undefined |
Flim | Undefined |
Fpa | Undefined |
State of Stock and Advice
- Fishing mortality in 2009 was estimated to be 0.33: this means that approximately 28%, by number, of all fish between 2 and 6 years of age were caught.
- Spawning stock biomass in 2010 was estimated to be approximately 179,000 tonnes.
- Fishing mortality and biomass cannot be determined in relation to the precautionary approach, as reference points have not been defined for this stock
- The advice implies a TAC in 2011 of 17,200 tonnes for whiting in areas IV and VIId.
Management Outcomes for 2011
At the December 2010 meeting in Brussels, the Council of Ministers decided that the EU Total Allowable Catch for North Sea (IV and IIa) whiting should be 13,349 tonnes. The UK quota for 2011 was set at 8,933 tonnes.
Information Source: ICES advice 2010 ( http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2010/2010/whg-47d.pdf).