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Unsatisfactory agreement on mackerel stock

17.03.14 | Uutinen
Sjúrður Skaale
Photographer
Johannes Jansson/norden.org
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On 13 March 2014, the EU, Norway and the Faroe Islands reached an agreement for this year's mackerel fishing which they have divided between them with quotas of over 1 million tonnes of mackerel. The agreement may lead to the mackerel catch in 2014 being much higher than the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommends, which the Nordic Council finds very unfortunate.

"It is very regrettable that some Nordic countries enter into an agreement with each other and the EU, while others remain outside. At worst, this may mean that we cannot achieve our goal of common administration and sustainable fishing, while the conflict between Nordic countries continues", said Sjúrdur Skaale, spokesperson for the Nordic Council’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Not the solution

The mackerel conflict involving the EU, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway has been on the Nordic Council agenda since 2010.  The Nordic Council has been looking for a long-term solution that builds on the principle of sustainable exploitation of natural resources.   The Council has also called for a better biological and legal foundation for the division of catch quotas of fish stock which is common for the coastal states.

"The agreement that was signed on 13 March has many positive aspects. It has paved the way for bi-lateral fishery agreements between Norway and the EU, and can hopefully also pave the way for coastal state agreements on herring, and bi-lateral agreements between the Faroe Islands and Norway/EU, as well as a repeal of the EU sanctions against the Faroe Islands. But the agreement does not solve the major challenge of creating a long-term agreement which will ensure a sustainable exploitation of the mackerel stock that all the coastal states will sign", says Skaale.

Call for better framework

"So, even though there are positive outcomes from the agreement, it is not the kind of agreement that the Nordic Council was looking for, and the Nordic Council’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee still prioritises working towards finding a satisfactory solution", concludes the Committee's Vice-Chair, Sjúrður Skaale from the Faroe Islands.

The Nordic Council is of the opinion that the mackerel conflict is symptomatic of the inadequacy of the existing framework of fisheries management in the North-east Atlantic. The fishery agreements we have had up till now have not been adapted to the dynamic marine developments.  Therefore, the Council calls for new ideas which can be used to develop a sustainable solution for the administration of common fish stocks.

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