The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA) has extended its fishery improvement projects (FIPs) covering pelagic stocks in the Northeast Atlantic for two more years as coastal states continue to collectively overfish multiple stocks.
NAPA was formed in 2019 in response to ongoing issues with North Atlantic mackerel, Northeast Atlantic spring spawning herring, and blue whiting stocks. Continuous state-level disagreements on how the total allowable catch (TAC) of the various stocks should be divided up has resulted in multiple years of overfishing that ultimately resulted in multiple species losing Marine Stewardship Council certification and having sustainability metrics downgraded by environmental organizations.
Now, after years of overfishing, Northeast Atlantic pelagic stocks are approaching a tipping point that could result significant damage to the long-term health of the fisheries, so NAPA is pushing for coastal states to end disputes over the stock to avoid catastrophe.
“Despite three years of relentless efforts from NAPA, the political deadlock has remained. Coastal states have continued to prioritize their own interests over the sustainable management of these stocks, leading to continued overfishing,” NAPA Chair Aoife Martin said.
NAPA originally set up its FIPs to push coastal states into reaching an agreement – with the caveat that some members comprising its coalition of over 50 retailers and supply chain businesses have pledged to stop sourcing from the fisheries if the issue continues to go unresolved. The new FIPs will last through 2026, and NAPA said they offer the latest and best chance for coastal states to sort out an equitable agreement.
“This extended two-year timeline to reach a much-needed political solution marks the beginning of the next chapter for NAPA – one that must reinforce the urgency and prioritize the science,” Martin said.
As part of its new push, NAPA has brought on Rob Blyth-Skyrme, a seafood consultant with a Ph.D. in fisheries management who has helped assess fisheries around the world.
Blyth-Skyrme told SeafoodSource that this year has come with additional urgency as surveys of Atlantic mackerel stock pushed the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) to advocate for major cuts, increasing pressure on coastal states.
He said that the state of mackerel, which was near its maximum sustainable yield biomass trigger (MSY Btrigger), was worse than expected and could serve as a wake-up call to states to take more action. If spawning stock biomass falls below that predetermined MSY Btrigger, there’s a risk of pushing the stock past where it can be sustainably fished, pushing the fishery into collapse.
“I think the expectation for this year was that it would still be a fair way above [MSY Btrigger],” Blyth-Skyrme said. “My hope is that [the biomass assessment] will really focus minds because if we allow those stocks to fall or if they are allowed to fall to critical levels, it will be a collective failure. It will be a stain on the credibility of the management process for this region.”
The drop in mackerel was unexpected, and while research currently points to the stock still remaining above the MSY Btrigger, it being even close at all could provide additional impetus for coastal states to develop sustainable TACs.
“We’re at MSY Btrigger more or less; if it falls below the point where the stock is suddenly put at risk of critical failure, then it’s a shocking level of mismanagement between the coastal states,” Blyth-Skyrme said.
The focus on mackerel adds to the already urgent focus on herring, which Blyth-Skyrme said was has been a focus for much longer due to relatively mediocre recruitment that had been buoyed by a strong 2016 year class propping up the fishery.
“With that year class expected to essentially wink out this year or going into next year, we were left with the prospect of a collapse,” Blyth-Skyrme said.
As NAPA continues its work to reverse the trend, it is taking a different approach with its FIP extensions. This new version is dividing up effort on the stocks with different species-specific subgroups that will tailor efforts to maximizing progress. That has so far helped engage major members of the seafood industry, including some Norwegian salmon farmers engaged with the pelagic stocks as imported sources of feed.
“It’s intended to be a little more focused, more tailored,” Blyth-Skyrme said.
If that doesn’t work, there is currently no prospect to seek further extensions on the FIPs – which could have knock-on consequences for the industry as NAPA member companies will decide on how to update their sourcing. Those plans range from reviewing sourcing from Northeast pelagic stocks to withdrawing from the fisheries altogether.
“NAPA members are engaged with NAPA for the express purposes of trying to seek better management of these stocks and comprehensive sharing agreements,” Blyth-Skyrme said. "In the absence of that happening, a lot of them may have to source elsewhere – that’s not something we want to see happen.”
