FLEMISH CAP

FLEMISH CAP ASSESMENT FISHERY SURVEY

From 1988 biological and oceanographic data have been collected in the Flemish Cap by scientific surveys thanks to the economic support of the European Commission. The Institute of Marine Research (CSIC-IIM), the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and the Portuguese Institute of sea and atmosphere (IPMA) have been in charge of its organization and execution. Since 2002, they are part of the Spanish and Portuguese programs of basic data gathering and, recently, they became also part of the European Fisheries Data Collection and Management Program (DCF) of the Common Fisheries Policy. The main goal of the survey is to know the evolution of the stocks of one of the most profitable fishing grounds for cod and flatfish and, more recently, Sebastes, Greenland halibut and shrimps as well as their abundance, biomass, demographic structure and oceanographic conditions.

The Flemish Cap is located within the regulatory area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO)

Flemish Cap is an isolated bank of the American coastal platform with an approximate surface, up to the depth of 800 fathoms (about 1460 meters), 17,000 square miles and 10,555 up to 400 fathoms (730 meters). The Flemish Pass, an area with depths exceeding one thousand meters, separates it from the Great Bank of Newfoundland, limiting the migration of many species, particularly those that live in shallower areas. Flemish Cap is entirely outside the entire 200-mile economic zone, the Canadian one in particular, and the exploitation of its resources is regulated by the international agreements of the NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization).