The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, together with the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), have launched once again the scientific campaign "Platuxa" in the regulatory area of NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization), in order to analyze the demersal fishery resources of commercial interest for the Spanish fleet in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
Within this framework, the oceanographic research vessel Vizconde de Eza is scheduled to set sail on June 7 from the port of Vigo to carry out this fishing campaign, which will last between June 15 and July 4, and will conclude on July 5 in the Canadian port of St. John's, Newfoundland.
The main purpose of the mission is to collect information on populations of species of interest in international waters adjacent to Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone, reaching depths of up to 1,500 meters within the area regulated by NAFO.
In particular, the scientific team will obtain data on catches, sizes, biological parameters, samples for growth and reproduction studies, as well as information on the food chain of the different species. In parallel, invertebrate communities will be studied and the physicochemical parameters of the water will be characterized.
Similarly, the campaign has "special relevance" for Northwest Atlantic bottom trawl fisheries, in which around 9% of trawl catches come from redfish and approximately 4% correspond to black halibut.
Continuously since 1995, this series of campaigns is integrated into the "National Program for the Collection, Management and Use of Data from the Spanish fishing sector" and is co-financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).