The International Council on the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended that mackerel quota in the Northeast Atlantic should be slashed 22 percent next year.
Several representative groups in the region believe the recommendation should be followed to protect the stock but disagree on how to do so, continuing a multi-year stalemate on reaching an all-encompassing pelagic fishing agreement.
“We had hoped it wouldn't be as much as 22 percent,” said Audun Maråk, the CEO of Norwegian shipowners’ association Fiskebåt. “Of course, a reduction of more than 20 percent will have an effect on both the fishing fleet and the processing industry. To avoid the stock [dropping] further in the future, our suggestion is that we should follow ICES advice.”
Representatives of associations from the E.U. and Faroe Islands agree with Maråk that ICES advice should be followed but claim their side is not to blame.
“This downward trajectory appears unavoidable and is the result of the excess catches taken by all coastal states except the E.U.,” said Tim Heddema, the president of the Netherlands-based Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association, adding that “with a heavy heart,” his organization will be recommending its fleet follow ICES advice.
For more than a decade, mackerel-fishing nations bordering the Northeast Atlantic have been struggling to settle on a quota-sharing agreement for pelagic stocks. The result of this stalemate has been unilateral quotas from coastal states, with combined pelagic catch remaining far above scientific recommendations.
In 2023, for example, catch was 40 percent higher than ICES recommended.
Earlier this year, Norway, the U.K., and the Faroe Islands entered into a trilateral agreement for mackerel fishing, with Norway getting 31 percent of the quota, the U.K. getting nearly 27.5 percent, and the Faroe Islands getting over 13 percent. With the E.U. having set a quota for itself of almost 22 percent, that only left a bit more than 6 percent for Iceland, Greenland, and Russia, far less than they were willing to accept.
The E.U. is not part of the agreement between Norway, Faroe Islands, and the U.K., and Heddema does not agree that the E.U. should be the ones to reduce quota.
“The trilateral agreement and supporting bilateral agreements between the U.K., Norway, and the Faroe Islands does not stop overfishing,” he said. “The three parties invite the other coastal states to join the agreement, but the remaining portion is utterly incompatible with historic shares, recent track records, and genuine economic interest.”
Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the U.K. have put forth the argument they have strong zonal attachment as it relates to pelagic stocks, meaning that the fish spend much of their year in their waters. The E.U.’s zonal attachment weakened after Brexit, with U.K. waters not being part of the union’s territory anymore. Heddema said he doesn’t think that zonal attachment should play such an important role in the sharing of stocks.
“A flawed, one-dimensional concept of zonal attachment ... cannot serve as the basis for a sharing arrangement," he said. "There are too many caveats, gaps, and uncertainties in the data on geographical distribution of the mackerel stock in the Northeast Atlantic. Evidence shows varying and very different migratory patterns, including mackerel retreating from Norwegian waters.”
He said historical fishing records should weigh more in any quota distribution deal.
“In short, the E.U. is the only coastal state left not overfishing mackerel, and it would be an abomination to expect exactly that one coastal state to reduce its quota,” he said.
Faroese Ship Association for Purse Seiners CEO Jógvan Jespersen said he is glad, at least for his own association, for what Faroe Islands managed to achieve in the agreement.
“We will be able to fish all our quota. It was not certain that we would be able to do that if we had to go to international waters,” he said. “It has been impossible to reach an agreement with everyone. The best solution so far has been that whoever can agree makes an agreement. Then, the others will have to join if it becomes possible.”
With Norway also being part of the agreement, Maråk said the deal will ensure pelagic stocks are fished more sustainably. With Iceland and Greenland not being able to fish their whole quota this year, overfishing is expected to be around 20 percent compared to 40 percent last year, he said.
To get closer to an all-inclusive agreement, the E.U. will have to reduce its quota, which could make room for Iceland and maybe even Greenland to enter into the agreement, Maråk said.
"When it comes to Iceland, they usually fish as much as they can. This year, they haven't been able to catch their quota in international waters, so I hope that they will be more constructive in the next negotiations," he said.
Maråk conceded it will be difficult to get any agreement with Russia, which has been claiming a quota of more than 12 percent.
“No one even talks about Russia," he said.
