Undersized whiting in the BT2 fishery : quantification of volumes and economic effects of handling and landing

To substantiate a de minimis request for undersized whiting caught with the so-called BT2 gear category in the North Sea more data about the extent of the catches and the costs of handling and landing were needed. The total net economic effect of handling and landing the undersized whiting for the Dutch BT2 fleet is 60,000 euros for the euro cutters and 828,000 euros for the large cutters (average over 2018 and 2019). This is 18% and 4% of their average net profit over the same period. In the case of catches of high volumes of undersized whiting, which have occurred during the period 2011-2019, the total volume of whiting may be a factor 12-14 higher than average.