The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) has issued a report on its efforts to counter “unsustainable” mackerel fishing by the Russian federation.
NEAFC adopted measures to curb mackerel fishing by Russia in late June in response to the country setting its own total allowable catch (TAC). Russia has been moving to set fishing allocations outside its exclusive economic zone, and in 2026 it unilaterally raised its own quota for mackerel to 67,548 metric tons (MT), or 22.5 percent of the TAC and five times its 2004 quota.
What TAC the NEAFC and E.U. are referring to is unclear, as the commission never agreed on a TAC after failing to agree in 2025.
In response to the move by Russia, NEAFC set a limit of 1,495 MT on Russian catch in international waters and took measure to prohibit members of the commission from facilitating Russia’s fishing of mackerel.
“Vessels from other NEAFC members may not transship from, nor provide refueling services to fishing vessels with Russian mackerel catches on board that exceed that 1,495 MT limit,” the European Commission said in a press release. “In addition, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Iceland are applying these restrictions within their respective national jurisdictions. Fishing vessels carrying Russian mackerel quantities above the agreed limits are barred from entering their ports.”
The commission said that the European Union has already denied fishing vessels entry to its port due to the presence of Russian-caught mackerel on board, and the commission is calling on NEAFC partners to extend jurisdictional enforcement, ban transshipment at sea, and establish comprehensive stock sharing.
NEAFC made management recommendations for mackerel in May.
ICES has recommended steep cuts to the TAC for mackerel, cutting it by 70 percent from 576,968 MT to just 174,357 MT, due to sustained overfishing of the species. NEAFC never agreed to that TAC, and the current 299,010 MT agreement between the U.K., Norway, Faroe Islands, and Iceland is still overfishing ICES advice by 100,000 MT.
