The Pelagic Advisory Council’s analysis of fishing opportunities for 2026 makes grim reading and sets out some stark realities for a variety of shared stocks – not least for mackerel which has been in the spotlight since ICES delivered its recommendation a few days ago for a 70% reduction in the TAC.
‘The risk of spawning stock biomass (SSB) falling below Blim that has been long feared by the PelAC over the past years has finally happened,’ the Pelagic AC states in its overview reached following several days of consultation among members.
‘The zero TAC advice is avoided only thanks to ICES guidelines which allow catches above zero when the resulting fishing mortality enables the spawning stock biomass to recover above Blim with a sufficient probability in the year following the advice. This is the case for mackerel for which this year’s headline advice is based on MSY approach and ensures that the SSB will be above Blim in 2027 with a 50% probability.’
The Pelagic AC makes clear it expects the European Union to use the strength of its position as the primary market for mackerel and other marine products – especially from Norway – to bring coastal states into line to reach a sharing arrangement for mackerel and other stocks.
‘The October 16–17 Coastal States meeting to set the TAC will be decisive. Even without a sharing agreement, the cut in fishing possibilities will challenge the resilience of fleets,’ the pelagic AC states in its report on 2026 fishing opportunities, shared with the European Commission, and it describes the situation facing on-shore processing as ‘abyssal’.
‘…Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland have continued to set excessive, unjustified unilateral quotas, leading to systemic overfishing and jeopardising the sustainability of the mackerel stock. Increased fishing effort by Russia in international waters, which remains subject to no control or monitoring, has exacerbated the problem,’ the Pelagic AC states, stressing the importance of using the approved revision of Regulation (EU) 1026/2012 ‘to ensure that long-term sharing arrangements can be agreed upon and that unilateral actions by non-EU Coastal States cease.’
‘It must be recalled that the EU is the only Coastal State that has always respected its quotas and ICES scientific advice. But what is virtue worth when others are systematically plundering this stock?’ the Pelagic AC asks.
‘The reality is that the sustainability of the mackerel stock is seriously compromised, and every deviation from ICES recommendations, coupled with every token agreement between the UK, Norway, and the Faroe Islands to legitimise excessive quotas, has contributed to and deepened the current crisis. ’
