The North Atlantic’s two largest mackerel fishing nations, Norway and the UK, have reached an agreement on the 2023 mackerel fishery.
‘I’m very happy that Norway and Great Britain have reached an agreement on the management of mackerel for 2023,’ said Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Bjørnar Skjæran, commenting that for Norway mackerel is an economically an important stock, second only to cod.
The Norwegian fleet gets a quota of 245,688 tonnes for 2023, after quota exchange and transfers from 2022. Norway can fish 135,141 tonnes of mackerel in the UK’s waters.
The agreement between Norway and Great Britain relates to the extent of national mackerel quotas, transfers of mackerel quotas and strengthening scientific co-operation.
‘Great Britain and Norway are the two largest mackerel nations, and this agreement is therefore an important step towards even better management of the mackerel stock and reduced fishing pressure,’ Bjørnar Skjæran said.
‘It would of course have been ideal if we had reached an agreement that included the other coastal states as well, and I hope that the example set by Norway and Great Britain will contribute to the other coastal states gradually following suit.’
Negotiations for 2024 and beyond will start in the autumn.
