Fishing in the North Sea

Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters. The main method of fishing is trawling.
Annual catches grew each year until the 1980s, when a high point of more than 3 million metric tons (3.3 million S/T) was reached. Since then, the numbers have fallen back to around 2.3 million tons (2.5 million S/T) annually with considerable differences between years. Besides the fish caught, it is estimated that 150,000 metric tons (165,000 S/T) of unmarketable by-catch are caught and around 85,000 metric tons (94,000 S/T) of dead and injured invertebrates.
Of the caught fish, about half are used for the production of fish oil and fish meal.
== History ==
Sturgeon, shad, rays, skates and salmon among other species were common in the North Sea into the 20th century, when numbers declined due to overfishing.
Other factors like the introduction of non-indigenous species, industrial and agricultural pollution, trawling and dredging, human-induced eutrophication, construction on coastal breeding and feeding grounds, sand and gravel extraction, offshore construction, and heavy shipping traffic have also contributed to the decline.
The OSPAR commission manages the OSPAR convention to counteract the harmful effects of human activity on wildlife in the North Sea, preserve endangered species, and provide environmental protection. 
 All North Sea border states are signatories of the MARPOL 73/78 Accords which preserves the marine environment by preventing pollution from ships. "Member States have ratified Marpol 73/78".
. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands also have a trilateral agreement for the protection of the Wadden Sea, or mudflats, which run along the coasts of the three countries on the southern edge of the North Sea.
At the end of the 19th century large quantities of herring were produced in Scotland.
Today mainly mackerel, Atlantic cod, whiting, coalfish, European plaice, and sole are caught. In addition, common shrimp, lobster, and crab, along with a variety of shellfish are harvested.
==Overfishing==
In recent decades, overfishing has left many fisheries unproductive, disturbing the marine food chain dynamics and costing jobs in the fishing industry.Clover, Charles. 2004. The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat. Ebury Press, London. ISBN 0-09-189780-7 Herring, cod and plaice fisheries may soon face the same plight as mackerel fishing which ceased in the 1970s due to overfishing.
Since the 1960s, various regulations have attempted to protect the stocks of fish such as limited fishing times and limited numbers of fishing boats, among other regulations. However, these rules were never systematically enforced and did not bring much relief. Since then, the United Kingdom and Denmark, two important fishing nations, became members of the EU, and have attempted, with the help of the Common Fisheries Policy, to bring the problem under control.
Norway, not a member of the EU, has also reached an agreement with the European Community concerning fishing policy. Regional advisory committees meet with the EU to help enforce policy.
In addition to threats due to food-chain disturbances, non-target species often wind up as victims of intense fishing. Sea turtles, dolphins, harbour porpoises, rays, and dozens of fish species are killed or injured by trawlers nets and beams. Denmark's trawler fishing alone accounts for the deaths of 5,000 porpoises a year. Trawling can also have a destructive effect on seabed habitats as the trawler beams drag along the floor can uproot plants and destroy reefs.
Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons	Fish caught in the North Sea in metric tons
Country 	1950 	1960 	1970 	1980 	1990 	1996 	2002 	 	 	 	 	
Denmark 	96,494 	284,527 	528,127 	1,806,191 	1,328,251 	1,284,365 	1,249,656 	 	 	 	 	
Norway 	296,337 	323,381 	480,819 	498,777 	617,741 	618,669 	691,062 	 	 	 	 	
United Kingdom 	308,895 	343,002 	410,775 	389,417 	343,205 	355,385 	295,367 	 	 	 	 	
Germany 	233,481 	305,776 	284,685 	90,217 	108,990 	63,647 	69,836 	 	 	 	 	
Netherlands 	64,438 	92,119 	121,524 	213,365 	256,597 	140,765 	146,835 	 	 	 	 	
Soviet Union / Russia 	89,269 	352,857 	429,182 	7,181 	1 	0 	0 	 	 	 	 	
France 	79,751 	149,769 	202,948 	100,861 	64,860 	35,262 	55,379 	 	 	 	 	
Sweden 	43,680 	71,899 	124,790 	86,465 	116,695 	72,863 	131,991 	 	 	 	 	
Faroe Islands 	38,630 	17,111 	63,725 	71,540 	23,292 	27,572 	0 	 	 	 	 	
Iceland 	0 	50,065 	21,111 	523 	0 	8 	4,668 	 	 	 	 	
Belgium 	28,036 	30,094 	26,547 	32,065 	26,889 	18,880 	14,657 	 	 	 	 	
Total 	1,286,230 	2,120,137 	2,807,950 	3,306,127 	2,893,422 	2,643,719 	2,687,299 	 	 	 	 	
All numbers from the FAO, cited by the University of British Columbia. For the FAO, the region "North Sea" includes Skagerrak and Kattegat
==Notes==
==References==
* Ilyina, P Ilyina (2007) The fate of persistent organic pollutants in the North Sea. Springer. ISBN 9783540681625)
* Karlsdóttir, Hrefna M (2005) Fishing on common grounds : the consequences of unregulated fisheries of North Sea herring in the postwar period. ISBN 9185196622)
North Sea
Category:North Sea
Category:Fish of the North Sea