The agreed recovery plan in the management of Norwegian spring-spawning herring

Abstract

In October 2001 the management agency (Coastal States) for Norwegian spring spawning herring agreed to a recovery plan which will become operative if the spawning stock falls below Bpa. The main element in this recovery plan is a linear reduction in the fishing mortality from 0.125 at Bpa to 0.05 at Blim. The paper reviews the process leading to the adoption of the recovery plan, and the performance and consequences of implementing such a plan is also discussed.