Norway’s fisheries minister Per Sandberg has announced that the Norwegian quota for Atlanto-Scandian herring has been lifted with a 40,000 tonne increase.
The quota for the Norwegian fleet is lifted to 432,870 tonnes as the quota is increased from 61 to 67% of the TAC.
Vessel owners’ federation Fiskebåt has welcomed the decision and director Audun Maråk said that they have had a dialogue with the ministry on this.
‘We support Per Sandberg’s decision fully,’ he said.
‘Iceland has for many years set unreasonably high mackerel quotas. The Faroe Islands have done the same for herring and blue whiting, while the EU has unilaterally increased its share of blue whiting.’
He stressed that Norway has made efforts to reach agreements and has not increased its shares of pelagic stocks, stating that Norway has legitimate calls on increased shares of the mackerel and herring fisheries.
‘To prevent Norway losing out, it must be stressed that Norway is not able to sit still and accept the current distribution of stocks,’ he said, adding that Norway has now set its Atlanto-Scandian herring quota in line with the traditional division between the coastal states, while other nations have set theirs higher.
‘We are aware that key pelagic stocks are growing, in spite of the lack of agreement, and after several years of negotiations we have still not reached agreement on distribution of the TAC.’
