Within a day of a European Union committee voting to pursue Atlanto-Scandian herring sanctions against the Faroe Islands, Iceland’s fishing minister said the move will undermine ongoing talks to resolve issues between the E.U., the Faroes and Iceland over herring and mackerel quotas.
“We don’t believe this is best way to settle these types of disagreements between friendly countries,” said Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Iceland’s minister of fisheries and agriculture. “This move from Brussels seriously undermines the efforts of the Coastal States to find a solution through diplomacy and dialogue.”
Both Iceland and the Faroes recently raised their quotas for both herring and mackerel, claiming that new scientific data shows the stocks have migrated into their waters, and that other countries should lower their quotas in response.
Instead, the E.U. and Norway, along with other environmental NGOs have criticized Iceland and the Faroes for fishing way over what they say is an acceptable quota.
The committee, made up of fisheries officials from E.U. member states, voted this week to back proposals by the European Commission and Maria Damanaki, commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries, to pursue the sanctions.
"I am glad the committee supported the proposal of the commission on adopting trade measures as regards the Faroe Islands,” Damanaki said. “Given the gravity of the situation and the lack of cooperation from the Faroese authorities, we had no option but to move ahead and take all necessary steps in ensuring a sustainable herring fishery managed in a joint manner by all coastal states concerned."
An E.U. spokesman stressed that the sanctions only concern herring from the Faroes, not Iceland, and do not address mackerel exports from either country. Even regarding the herring sanctions against the Faroes, the commission still needs to formally declare the sanctions before they take effect.
But that decision is expected to happen this month, and this week Jóhannsson called for a meeting of the Coastal States nations to renew discussing quotas on both mackerel and herring for both Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
“We are optimistic that we can reach a solution that ensures a fair share for all and safeguards the environmental and economic interests of the Coastal States,” he said.
