Members of the North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA) are committed to its pledge to source alternative species if Northeast Atlantic coastal states can’t end long-term overfishing of mackerel, NAPA Mackerel Subgroup Chair and Thai Union Ambient Sustainability Director Chris Shearlock told SeafoodSource.
NAPA recently released call-to-action film “Mackerel Maths” as part of a new campaign that’s urging the coastal states of Norway, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland to reduce the overfishing of mackerel and to collaboratively ensure total catches are in line with scientific advice. It has also warned that for the last 15 years, the total annual catch has been on average 40 percent more than these recommendations, and the stock has been on a declining trajectory for the past 10 years.
As a result of the ongoing issues, multiple pelagic stocks have lost Marine Stewardship Council certification and have had sustainability metrics downgraded by environmental organizations – with the most recent instance being the Marine Conservation Society downgrading Northeast Atlantic mackerel.
NAPA was formed to advocate for reforms to fishing pressure on the pelagic stocks, and Shearlock said the blame for overfishing lies solely with the coastal states’ inability to reach an agreement, not the fishing industry itself.
“Enforcement of science-based quotas is crucial for effective fishery management. While those fishing for mackerel are highly compliant, the challenge lies with the coastal states managing the fishery,” Shearlock said. “For instance, the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s “fishsource” scoring for the fishery notes ‘Fishers Compliance’ at 10/10, but rates ‘Managers Compliance’ at only 4.6/10.”
NAPA has initiated what it calls policy fishery improvement projects (FIPs) through which its members have independently made sourcing commitments tied to sustainable stocks. Many of those members said they will stop sourcing from Northeast Atlantic pelagics unless full sharing agreements are reached by the FIP deadline, which now just has 12 months to run...
