Iceland is said to increase its cod quota and floods the market that will pushing down the price of fish, warn Scottish fishing industry leaders. Scottish fishermen were already in trouble as the fishing industry in the midst of a “mackerel war” that has seen Icelandic fishermen compared to marauding Vikings over foreign fish landings.
Mike Park, the executive chairman of the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association, said that they will export more cod to the UK and that deflates the markets. He added that it is bad news when we are dealing with a reduction in the level of our cod landings. Normally, supply and demand would kick in and the price would go up.
The impact would be much different as the price of Scottish cod, which sells today at the market for between £2.40 and £3.30 per kg, is expected to drop by almost £1 a kg once the new Iceland cod quota is brought in. This week has seen fury over the decision of the Icelandic and Faroese governments to set their own mackerel quotas. Fishermen have twice mounted quayside blockades over the past two weeks to prevent Faroese trawlers from landing mackerel at Peterhead.
