The EU, Norway, Iceland and Faroe are ready again to sit for second round of mackerel fisheries talk. Earlier the talk had a bitter dispute between the EU and Norway on the one side and the Nordic states of Faroe and Iceland on the other over fishing rights in the valuable north east Atlantic mackerel stock. The dispute began when both Iceland and Faroe substantially increased their mackerel quota after claims that Norway and the EU had done likewise without consulting their Nordic neighbours.
The report says that the EU’s mackerel share for 2010 is 367,000 tonnes of which 173,663 tonnes belongs to the UK. Around 70 per cent of that is caught by Scottish vessels, with a third of the Scottish industry being based in Shetland. Ian Gatt, the chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said it was very disappointing that a deal was not reached during the first round of talks although we are encouraged that there is the basis for continuing the negotiations into a second round of discussions.
CEO of the Faroese Pelagic Organisation, Jogvan Jespersen, agreed that progress had been made, but insisted that the migration pattern of the fish had changed with the result that more mackerel shoals spend longer periods of time in Faroese waters. He added that the progress need to be reflected in the quota allocated to the Faroe Islands.
Gatt also said that all coastal state parties have lost fishing opportunity following the blue whiting cut and this week’s mackerel talks shouldn’t be viewed as an opportunity for making up for this loss of fishing entitlement. He told that it is very important to reach a deal that must ensure that mackerel is harvested at sustainable levels whilst at the same time protecting the rights of those who have traditionally fished for the species in the north-east Atlantic.
