Brussels, 27/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 27 September, EU fisheries ministers condemned the decision by the Faroe Islands and Iceland to allocate themselves massive mackerel quotas in the North-East Atlantic, with no prior consultation with the EU and disregarding scientific opinion. They asked the European Commission, however, to continue negotiations with these countries to try to find an agreement on management of this stock, but stressed that this agreement must not be at any cost. Ministers refused to accede to the request by Iceland and the Faroe Islands that their fishermen be granted access to Community waters to fish for mackerel. Ministers were more divided on possible sanctions to be put in place if talks on the long-term management of mackerel stocks were to break down. The Commission has threatened not to renew the annual bilateral fisheries agreements with the two countries. Some countries, such as France (which gains most from the bilateral agreement with the Faroe Islands), felt that reprisals were not the right way to go. The Netherlands made the link with Iceland's EU accession negotiations. Some countries asked the Commission to prepare a list of possible sanctions (trade sanctions, banning fishermen from these countries from landing fish in EU ports, etc).
The previous agreement on mackerel among coastal states expired in 2009. Discussions on renewal have, so far, resulted in stalemate and, during the summer, the Faroe Islands unilaterally declared a quota of 85,000 tonnes for 2010, and Iceland allocated itself 130,000 tonnes. The result is that mackerel is being overfished (scientific opinion recommends that no more than 570,000 tonnes are fished).
Kris Peeters, Minister President of the Flanders Region of Belgium, with responsibility for fisheries, said that the Council had given the Commission its backing to continue in October to seek an agreement among coastal states on long-term mackerel fishery opportunities. “But there must not be agreement at all costs,” Peeters said. He added that the agreement should use last year's agreement between the EU and Norway on management of the mackerel stocks as its basis.
“The action by Iceland and the Faroe Islands in setting unilateral quotas for themselves is nothing short of unacceptable,” stated European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. “We concluded today that we want to resolve this untenable situation,” she added. The Commission, then, will continue discussions with the two counties, taking account of the migration of mackerel into more northern waters. Iceland and the Faroe Islands say that global warming has caused the mackerel to move further north into their fishing zones, and so justify their quota increases. “We will not seek an agreement at any cost,” Damanaki warned. If the two countries continue with their exaggerated quota expectations, “the EU will be ready to act, in particular in relation to our annual fisheries agreements with those countries,” she said. “The European Commission does not make any links between this issue and (Iceland's EU) accession talks,” she went on to say, while acknowledging that Iceland also had to comply with European, legislation. (L.C./transl.rt)