The board of directors of Russia’s fisheries research institutes approved a sharp increase in the 2019 total allowable catch (TAC) for coldwater shrimp harvesting in the Barents Sea.

The All-Russian Fisheries Research Institute (VNIRO) recommended the overall quota for the Barents Sea be set at 90,000 metric tons, up 28.5 percent from the current 70,000 metric tons.

VNIRO researchers said the stability of the stock justified the increase.

The TAC for Russia's portion of the Barents Sea harvest in 2019 was set at 28,000 metric tons -- a roughly 30 percent rise from last year's catch of 11,700 metric tons, which itself was up more than three times the catch of the year prior.