Coveney presses EU on ‘untenable’ fishing by Iceland and Faroe Islands

UNTENABLE mackerel fishing by Iceland and the Faroe Islands must be resisted, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told European Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki at a special meeting in Luxembourg.

Commissioner Damanaki said monitoring the discarding of fish was high on her agenda for the imminent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), but she also took on board Irish concerns about the depletion threat to mackerel stocks, plus Minister Coveney’s defence of the existing whitefish catch quota in Irish waters.

Minister Coveney said: “The actions of Iceland and the Faroe Islands pose a serious threat to the mackerel stock, which is very important to Ireland. I pressed the commissioner to introduce trade sanctions and agree a long term management framework for mackerel.”