The latest meeting of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) resulted in no agreement on a sharing arrangement for blue whiting and opposition to a total allowable catch (TAC) for mackerel in line with scientific advice, leaving both fisheries facing overfishing for another year.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) latest scientific advice for Northeast Atlantic pelagic species recommended big cuts to quotas for multiple fisheries, including a 41 percent decrease in the blue whiting catch and an even steeper 70 percent decrease to the mackerel catch – taking that stock from 576,968 metric tons (MT) to just 174,357 MT. That advice comes after years of overfishing of both species, caused by continuous disagreements between the member states of Norway, the E.U., the U.K., Iceland, Denmark with respect to the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and Russia – who have in the past repeatedly agreed to follow the ICES advice, but inevitably blown past the TAC after disagreeing over who should take what share of the catch.
Now, the latest meeting of the NEAFC has resulted in members states failing to even agree on whether to follow the ICES advice. The E.U. Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said at the meeting it proposed a TAC in line with the scientific advice, and most members of the commission opposed the proposal.
“This will lead to severe overfishing of mackerel, the most important Northeast Atlantic stock, which is already below the minimum sustainability level advised by ICES,” the directorate said in a release following the meeting. “The annual meeting also ended without an agreement on a sharing arrangement for blue whiting, despite the E.U. proposal to follow the scientific advice for this stock, which is already severely overfished.”
Sustainability organizations had already said the stocks were reaching a critical point in 2024, but some groups representing fishing industries of member countries of the fishery are calling for a TAC much higher than ICES advice on assertions the industry wouldn’t survive the steep cuts. Fiskebåt, which represents Norwegian fishers, has already called for a TAC that is much higher than ICES advice.
"It is in everyone's interest to rebuild the mackerel stock, but at the same time, it is important that the industry and the market are not damaged in the rebuilding process. Fiskebåt believes there is a scientific basis for deviating from the quota advice issued by ICES," Fiskebåt CEO Audun Maråk said.
The E.U. has been sharply critical of Norway’s stance on the fishery, and after the latest meeting of the NEAFC called out members for continuing to oppose its proposals to support a ban on transshipment as well, “despite the fact that such activity is forbidden in most of the members’ national waters.”
“A predominant resistance to the deployment of inspection means to control this practice risks deteriorating further the situation in the area,” the E.U. Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs said. “The E.U. regrets that it was not possible to garner a collective commitment among the contracting parties to manage fish stocks based on science, to stop overfishing and tackle illegal and unregulated fishing.”
Overlapping with the NEAFC meeting, the Scottish Pelagic Processors Association and Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association said its members’ have found the mackerel fishery in 2025 is “progressing well” and finding an “abundance of fish that are well spread over a very large area.”
“Despite the grim scientific advice calling for a 70 percent cut in quota for next year, it is encouraging to get first hand reports from the fishing boats that mackerel appears to be relatively abundant this autumn, which is all information that will hopefully get fed into the final decision-making process,” Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association Chief Executive Ian Gatt said.
The SPFA said Chief Scientific Officer Steven Mackinson and University of the Highlands and Islands Shetland student Iohara Amador recently joined a mackerel fishing trip to support the scientific sampling of catches to analyze the state of the fishery.
“Heading out about 50 miles west of Shetland, the boat found shoals of mackerel larger than they have seen in many years, resulting in the fishing being quick and successful, with the return trip from Lerwick taking less than 12 hours. The quick turnaround also ensured the fish landed was premium quality,” SPFA said. “A number Scottish and Dutch boats were also operating in the area, all reporting good catches, with fish covering a range of sizes representing a diverse age structure.”
As debate rages over the state of the mackerel stock and what the fishing pressure should be in 2026, the North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA) has continued to advocate companies withdraw purchasing from the affected stocks to pressure the industry into making changes. The organization recently called on Japanese businesses to add their voice to other major businesses in calling on the member states to follow ICES advice.
NAPA said Japan went through its own loss of mackerel as its blue mackerel stocks have been dwindling, and urged the country to pressure the countries fishing Northeast Atlantic mackerel so it can avoid the same fate.
“Japan has known the pain of losing a well-loved fish from its table. Japanese businesses now have an opportunity to inspire Coastal States to learn from their experience, and can lead the way to ensure the same crisis isn’t repeated in the North East Atlantic,” NAPA Independent Chair Aoife Martin said. “NAPA is encouraging all Japanese businesses with a stake in the future of North East Atlantic mackerel to add their voices to our calls for change and demonstrate just how much is at risk if European decision makers fail to ensure stocks are protected.”
