The fishing sector in Ireland is facing a catastrophic 2026 mackerel quota reduction of 70% – threatening to collapse Irish fishing and devastate major fishing communities.
‘The scientific recommendation is a hammer blow,’ said Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) CEO Aodh O’Donnell. ‘It could wipe out Ireland’s pelagic (offshore) fishing fleet and fish processors.
Sustainability is paramount but a failure to stop non-EU States from overfishing mackerel has created this crisis. Mackerel is Ireland’s most valuable catch, worth €94 million in exports to top markets in Europe and Asia. A 70% quota cut could slash this by €66 million next year.’
He’s adamant that the ICES findings that mackerel stocks are below safe biological limits are the result of years of overfishing, particularly by non-EU coastal states. Despite this, key states – including Norway, the Faroe Islands and the UK – failed to adopt emergency recovery measures proposed at the recent Coastal States talks.
‘The rogue players of the north, mainly Norway, the Faroes and Russia, have fished as much as they liked of our shared migratory stock of mackerel. They did so against scientific advice and with impunity because they believed the EU would never apply sanctions to them. In fact, the EU inadvertently approved this overfishing by trading access to EU fishing waters with Norway, for other species, such as blue whiting,’ Aodh O’Donnell said.
‘We have repeatedly urged the EU to stop these non-EU coastal states from unilaterally setting inflated quotas. Now Ireland is paying the price for an EU failure to use their bargaining powers and trade measures decisively to end these unsustainable practices. Just five years ago, Ireland’s mackerel quota was over 75,000 tonnes. Under the post-Brexit deal, the EU reduced that by roughly 26%. This was followed by two years of quota reductions. Now, a further 70% cut will be devastating for the industry and lead to job losses.’
Alongside the recommendation for mackerel, ICES also advises a 41% cut in the quota for blue whiting – potentially dealing a second devastating blow to Ireland’s fisheries.
Blue whiting is a particularly sore point as while this spawns predominately in waters within and west of the Irish EEZ, deals in recent years have repeatedly allocated Norway more blue whiting here than to the Irish fishing fleet. According to IFPO, one access deal allowed the Norwegian fleet to catch nearly 200,000 tonnes of blue whiting in the waters to the west of Ireland, while the Irish catch was limited to less than 60,000 tonnes.
‘Norway’s quota was worth around €50m, compared to just €15m for the Irish fleet ~ and we gained almost nothing from that deal,’ Aodh O’Donnell said.
IFPO wants to see a new, enforceable sharing regime, with quotas based on fairness and sustainability, not inflated self-declared claims.
‘Ireland must insist on full application of historical protections and agreements at the December EU Fisheries Council. The EU must confront non-EU coastal states and make access conditional on fair, enforceable sharing. If Brussels fails to act, Ireland’s pelagic (offshore) industry, which is worth hundreds of millions, could vanish,’ he said.
‘Talks will resume in October once the full ICES-recommended cuts are known. The coming months are critical – our industry, coastal towns, and heritage all hang in the balance.’
