Mackerel fishery talks collapse

Iceland and the Faroe Islands have been criticised for failing to agree to sustainably manage a “valuable” mackerel fishery with other European countries.

The collapse of talks aimed at securing a sustainable deal for the fishery was labelled “disappointing” by officials in the UK and Europe.

The EU and Norway had been negotiating with Iceland and the Faroe Islands on proposals to jointly manage the mackerel fisheries in the North East Atlantic, in the face of “unsustainable” catches by the two countries who have been setting their own quotas.

The EU and Norway said Iceland had increased its catches from almost nothing in 2006 to almost 157,000 tonnes in 2011, while the Faroe Islands had increased its catches six-fold in two years to 150,000 tonnes in 2011.

While changes to migration patterns of the mackerel meant there should be changes to how the resource is shared, if the EU and Norway had increased their quotas for mackerel in the same way, the pressure on the stock “would go totally out of control”, they warned.

And they accused Iceland and the Faroe Islands of failing to recognise the importance of mackerel catches to coastal communities in the European Union and Norway.

Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said the two countries were pursuing “grossly inflated quotas that are all about short-term selfish gain”.

He said that mackerel stocks were currently present in seas further west and that Iceland had the right to a share of the fishery, but said it was unacceptable to pursue such massive quotas.

And foreign vessels were being allowed to exploit mackerel on behalf of the Faroes which did not have the capacity to catch so many fish, he said.

“It is deeply disappointing and enormously frustrating that we are facing another year without a mackerel deal,” he said.

“The lack of progress this week has been very worrying, with the Faroes in particular demonstrating a lack of willing to reach a deal.

“We now expect Faroes and Iceland will continue with grossly inflated quotas that are all about short-term selfish gain.”

And he warned: “If overfishing continues, we face the prospect of the mackerel stock falling below safe limits by 2014.

“That’s why we need the EU to fast-track plans for sanctions against any country engaging in unsustainable fishing outwith international agreements.

“We cannot allow a stock that Scottish fishing communities have relied upon for generations to be recklessly plundered, year and year.

“This impasse must come to an end by some means, to secure this fishery for decades to come.”