On Wednesday 26 June, the European fishing industry, represented by Europêche, expressed its disappointment at the partial agreement reached between the United Kingdom, Norway and the Faroe Islands on the sharing of fishing opportunities for mackerel in the north-east Atlantic.
“This agreement does not resolve the critical issue of catches exceeding the total allowable catch set in accordance with scientific advice. Instead, it rewards the excessive unilateral quotas set by certain parties in recent years,” deplores Europêche, which is calling on all coastal states to resume consultations with a view to a comprehensive sharing agreement that reflects “genuine and lasting” history and interests. The European Commission and the EU Council are invited to take concrete measures against the setting of excessive unilateral quotas and to use the trade measures provided for.
This spring, the coastal states failed to agree on a sharing arrangement for the mackerel fishery. Negotiations will not resume before September. On 17 June, the UK, Norway and the Faroe Islands signed a trilateral agreement on their 2024, 2025 and 2026 quotas. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)