Brussels, 19/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - Iceland and the Faroe Islands, an autonomous province of Denmark, have sharply criticised the call from a number of EU countries for sanctions to be imposed on them for the large mackerel quotas they have taken for themselves (see EUROPE 10657).
These calls are “essentially propaganda”, Icelandic Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson told AFP. “The mackerel feed and grow in Icelandic waters and, in so doing, harm other fish. We will not give into pressure and will stick to our position”, he added.
Ireland, backed by Portugal, Spain and France, asked the European Commission on Monday for information on possible trade measures it could take against Icelandic and Faroese fishermen, whom it accuses of endangering stocks of this fish through over-intensive fishing.
Iceland and the Faroe Islands have drawn the ire of several EU member states by unilaterally increasing their mackerel quotas since 2010, arguing that the fish had migrated northwards as a result of global warming.
According to the Commission, the total mackerel catch set by the EU, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway for 2012 is 36% above the level recommended by scientists, and this is without counting Russian catches.
In this mackerel war, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to find agreement among the various parties on joint, sustainable management of mackerel stocks, and fresh talks are due to be held in September.
A new regulation, due to be adopted by the European Parliament and Council in September, will allow the EU to impose sanctions on non-EU states which, through their fishing practices, endanger the viability of any fish species.
In 2010, Iceland, which is now engaged in negotiations on accession to the EU, decided unilaterally to increase its mackerel quota from 2,000 tonnes to 130,000 tonnes, and the Faroe Islands trebled its quota set in the international agreement, to 85,000 tonnes. In 2012, the Faroe Islands took the decision to increase its quota to 148,000 tonnes. (LC/transl.rt)