Meeting at Clonakilty in Ireland, representatives of the EU, the Faroe Islands and Norway have agreed on a mackerel quota of 1,020,996 tonnes for next year, which represents an increase of almost 14% compared with this yea’s quota and exceeds the 944,000 tonne figure recommended by ICES.
The agreement is otherwise identical to the 2016 agreement, under which 15.60% of the quota is allocated to nations that are not part of the agreement, among them Iceland, although in recent years this allocation has always been exceeded. The division gives the EU 503,245 tonnes, Norway 229,821 tonnes and the Faroe Islands 128,655 tonnes.
ICES has already stated that it expects this year’s mackerel catches to total 1.07 million tonnes.
‘The renewed quota agreement is in line with the recommendations of Fiskarlaget and Fiskebåt,’ commented Fiskebåt director Audun Maråk.
‘The mackerel stock’s situation is very positive and recruitment has also been very good’
Norwegian fisheries minister Per Sandberg commented that he is pleased the three coastal states have reached agreement.
‘It is positive that the mackerel stock is in good condition, and we have good reason to set a higher quota than in 2016,’ he said.
The quota is determined on the basis of a management plan for mackerel as the three coastal states agreed in 2015. The coastal states have also agreed to start work on a new management plan in 2017 on the basis of a new benchmark for mackerel that ICES will present to them.
