1 200-tonne by-catch haul questioned

More than 1 200 tonnes of marine resources were recorded as by-catch from two horse mackerel freezer trawlers over a 30-day period, according to stock records from Scombrus Fishing.

The records, generated on 17 July, show a combined 1 233 821kg recorded for the vessels Joka 2 and Omeya Blu.

Joka 2 recorded 575 430kg, while Omeya Blu recorded 658 391kg during the period.

The stock records contain several marine species, including hake, mackerel, sardines, gurnards, jacopever, ribbonfish, snoek and other marine resources.

The figures come at a time when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform is pushing for tighter controls on by-catch, which refers to marine resources caught while fishing for another target species.

However, the ministry says it could not authenticate the Scombrus records.