PRAWN IS IN THE DEEP DEPRESSION

The prawns, same as crab, leave our marine shelf in large quantities for the Land of Rising Sun. However, it looks as if Japanese gourmet palates will have but sweet dreams about them soon. The problem is, in Sakhalin the 1996 fishing quotas for prawns caught in the Tatar Strait will be cut down to a mere 150 metric ton, while in recent years the catches for this species were registered at over 2,000 metric ton. This year quota has been completely used already. Now, about a score of vessels, equipped for prawn fishing, stand jobless. The contracts are ruined, and the shipowners ring the alarm...

What is the reason for this situation, which became he subject of discussion at Sakhalin Governor's Office and Kuril Fisheries Department?

Sakhrybvod (Sakhalin Fish and Game) on requirement of SakhNIRO introduced a ban on prawn and shrimp fishing for the whole spawning period, as commented on the situation A. Orlovsky, Acting Head of Resources Bureau for the Kuril Fisheries Department. As it appeared, as a result of intensive fishing in foregoing years, the stock of prawns and shrimps dropped considerably.

The decrease was already looming ahead in 1994. Last year's catches where twice as little. Then a SakhNIRO expedition conducted a survey, i.e. a trial trawling within the prawn habitual areas, all to a discouraging result: the stocks decreased by five times, that is dropped below the normal reproduction, if not survival, level.

It was decided to conduct a survey trawling for the whole habitat of prawns, including the traditional fishing areas of Khabarovsk and Primorskiy Krai's vessels, with participation of scientists from SakhNIRO, TINRO, and Khabarovsk Branch. Should the survey fail to show the stock growth, it would be possible that a decision may be taken by the Far Eastern Basin Science Board to ban prawn fishing for several years completely.