Brussels, 25/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - An international agreement was reached on 23 January between the European Commission on behalf of the European Union, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation on fishing opportunities for Atlanto-Scandian (Norwegian spring-spawning) herring stock in the north-east Atlantic. The Faroe Islands, however, refused to sign the agreement, which sparked an angry response from Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead, who called on the EU to penalise the Faroe Islands which, he pointed out, is at the heart (with Iceland) of the conflict with the EU on the management of mackerel stocks. According to the Scottish side, the representatives of the Faroe Islands have refused to negotiate on Atlanto-Scandian herring. The parties agreed to fix the total allowable catch (TAC) for Atlanto-Scandian herring at 619,000 tonnes (the United Kingdom's share of which is 8,827 tonnes), which is 26% less than for 2012.
In addition, the countries concerned agreed a TAC of 643,000 tonnes for blue whiting, i.e. an increase of 65% compared with 2012. (LC/transl.jl)