Northeast Atlantic Region

The NE Atlantic region encompasses the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans to the east of Greenland (east of 44◦00’ W) and north of the southern tip of Spain (north of 5◦36” W; FAO fishing area 27).  There have been a number of studies reporting non-target bycatch in this region. Pelagic trawlers are known to catch marine mammals including common dolphins, long-fin pilot whales, long beaked dolphins and white-sided dolphins. Harbour porpoise bycatch has been reported in drift nets and fixed nets (gill and tangle). Coastal gillnets are known to catch seabirds including long-tailed ducks, great cormorants, common eiders, common scoters, razorbills and common guillemots. Longliners in these waters have caught gannets, fulmars and shearwaters. There are a few studies on bycatch of marine turtles in this region. The most frequently caught turtles are leatherbacks, particularly in pot fisheries and pelagic driftnets.

Project GloBAL is starting to compile reports on fishing effort and bycatch in this region. Commercial fisheries are mostly gillnets and trawls, although longlining is expanding in these waters.