Scottish fishermen want Iceland to not be given access to EU mackerel fishing waters under any quota agreement. (Photo: Blog bjarniolafssonak.123.is)

Mackerel quota talks reinitiated with Iceland

UNITED KINGDOM
Friday, September 24, 2010, 23:40 (GMT + 9)

Scotland’s government has reinitiated talks with Iceland over a new mackerel quota deal to protect global stocks in anticipation of the upcoming of the European Union (EU) AgriFish Council meeting in Brussels.

Scottish Government officials traveled to Reykjavik to attend a bilateral meeting between the EU and Iceland, to begin the process of working toward a solution to make sure mackerel are fished in a sustainable way. This meeting re-established dialogue with Iceland following on Scottish involvement in an EU meeting with the Faroes Islands earlier this month.

"Scotland has been well represented through the recent talks that have taken place with both Iceland and the Faroes,” said Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said. “With a hard-earned reputation for the careful management of our mackerel stocks, we are ideally positioned to advise on how a fair and meaningful resolution can be achieved.”

"That's why we need to bring all parties on board through a new multilateral agreement. However, that is not to say that the irresponsible and unilateral actions of Iceland and the Faroes should be rewarded. If any party is not prepared to negotiate reasonably to find a solution, then strong action is needed,” he warned.

He went on to say that even though it is encouraging that talks have been re-initiated with Iceland, it is key that all parties prove their desire to reach a meaningful and just resolution and commit to reasonable negotiations.

The setting of unilateral mackerel quota by Iceland and the Faroe Islands will be discussed at the EU AgriFish Council taking place next week, where Scottish fishers will push the European Commission (EC) to commit to strong action against Iceland and the Faroes if the two countries fail to reach an acceptable deal on international mackerel quotas when they meet in London in October.

Scottish fishermen mainly want the assurance that Iceland will not be given access to EU waters for mackerel under any quota agreement and that the EC to follow Norway’s lead and ban the landing of Faroese mackerel into EU ports until an agreement is reached.

At the end of July, the Faroes established a quota of 85,000 tonnes of mackerel for 2010 - over three times its previous total allowable catch (TAC) - after Iceland’s recent move to give itself a unilateral quota of 130,000 tonnes for the species.

Scotland’s is the first European large-scale mackerel fishery to be awarded the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) certification of sustainability. In 2009 mackerel was the Scottish fleet’s most lucrative stock.

Related articles:

- Faroes pressured in bilateral mackerel talks
- Faroese justify quota increase

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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