Brussels, 24/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - Agreement on mackerel fishing arrangements in the North-East Atlantic in 2015 was reached between the EU, Norway and the Faroe Islands on Friday 21 November. Iceland is not party to the agreement and it is not known if it will become so.
The arrangement establishes the quota sharing for 2015, following the agreement between the parties covering the period from 2014 to 2018 reached in London on 12 March. In a press release, the European Commission welcomes the agreement but says it was unfortunate that, in 2014, ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) had been unable to deliver scientific advice on total allowable catches (TACs). It was on the basis of such advice that the parties could have developed a revised mackerel management plan as provided for in the five-year arrangement. The parties agreed, however, in the absence of this advice, to base the 2015 TAC on the precautionary reference points established at the last benchmarking exercise on the stock in February 2014. The parties will therefore recommend the adoption of a total catch limitation of 1,054,000 tonnes for the mackerel fishery in 2015 in the North-East Atlantic, noting that ICES confirms this TAC level as both “sustainable and precautionary”, the Commission points out. Of this total, the EU will have 519,512 tonnes, the Faroe Islands 132,814 tonnes and Norway 237,250 tonnes. There is a reserve, equivalent to 15.6% of the TAC, or 164,424 tonnes, to provide for new adherents, such as Iceland, if it chooses to become a party.
European Commissioner Karmenu Vella said that proper management of mackerel resources was “vital for our coastal communities, and for our fishing and processing industries in particular”. He added that it was “our joint responsibility” to manage this resource in a sustainable manner. “We look forward to the early establishment of a long-term management strategy in line with the ICES advice”, he stated.
“Although the total allowable catch is down on the previous year - which had been set unusually high for one year - it is important that this agreement has set fishing levels according to the scientific advice”, said Scottish Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead. (LC)