Two weeks after yet another round of negotiations over the northeast Atlantic mackerel quota failed, the Faroe Islands has unilaterally set its 2012 mackerel quota.
The Faroes’ 2012 mackerel quota of 148,375 metric tons is slightly less than the 150,000 metric tons it targeted in 2011. This is the thrid consecutive year that the Faroes has set its own mackerel quota outside of the international agreement with Norway and the European Union, and Iceland is expected to follow suit, the Shetland News reported on Thursday.
The quota reduction of 1.08 percent is in line with International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommendations, according to the newspaper.
In mid-February, talks in Reykjavik, Iceland, broke down once again. The European Union and Norway accuse Iceland and the Faroes of threatening the health of the mackerel resource by setting their quotas too high, collectively totaling 300,000 metric tons in 2011. The dispute has dragged on for about three years, with Iceland and the Faroes unilaterally setting their own quotas each year.
Several MEPs are pushing the European Commission to enact trade sanctions against Iceland and the Faroes.
