The Faroe Islands decision to unilaterally set a quota for herring of 105,023 metric tons (MT) has dealt another big blow to the sustainable management of Northeast Atlantic (NEA) pelagic stocks.
While the Faroes’ new quota is three times greater than the share it was entitled to under the five-party management agreement with Norway, EU, Iceland and Russia, the move wasn’t that much of a surprise to many stakeholders who felt the writing was on the wall even before the island group that under the sovereignty of Denmark walked out of catch-share negotiations in January.
Nevertheless, the move has further raised concerns in the catching and processing sectors, which were already deeply frustrated by the continued failure of negotiators to reach an international management agreement for mackerel. And it should be noted that earlier this year, the Faroes set a unilateral mackerel quota of 159,000 MT, or 29.3 percent of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended total allowable catch (TAC) of 542,000 MT. This was after Iceland had set its quota at 123,000 MT or 22.7 percent of the TAC.
These quotas have heaped intense pressure on EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki to implement trade sanctions against the Faroes and Iceland. And Damanaki, who has so far held back from using the powers given to her last year by European Parliament, said she has been “given the green light” to open procedures for using the trade instrument against the Faroes to deal with the Atlanto-Scandian herring problem. The EU Fishing Council at press time was outlining sanctions against Faroese mackerel.
In the meantime, Damanaki and Norwegian Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Minister Lisbeth Berg-Hansen issued a joint statement expressing concern at the Faroes’ unilateral quotas for both species, particularly the “excessive and unsustainable level” of Faroese fishing.
“On herring, the Faroe Islands have now unilaterally more than tripled their quota. This unilateral move risks affecting seriously the health and sustainability of that important fish stock,” said the ministers.
“We are deeply concerned that by taking yet another unilateral step and by leaving the community of coastal states on a second North Atlantic fish stock, the Faroe Islands have embarked on dismembering the joint management of our shared resources. We call on the Faroe Islands to reverse those steps immediately.”
From a commercial perspective, Norway, which is the NEA’s biggest herring catch shareholder, has already seen the value of its exports nosedive this year. According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, the country’s first-quarter earnings from herring totaled NOK 812 million (USD 141.4 million, EUR 107.3 million), a drop of 48 percent on the value achieved in Q1 2012.
Russia and Ukraine are Norway’s two biggest markets for herring.
Defending the new herring quota, Faroese Fishing Minister Jacob Vestergaard said the migratory pattern of the fish had changed, resulting in an increased proportion of the stock feeding and spending more time in Faroese waters.
Based on ICES advice, the Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery TAC for 2013 was set at 619,000 MT under the auspices of the original five-party agreement. This TAC is 26 percent lower than the catch limit of 833,000 MT set last year, which was shared by Norway (61 percent/508,130 MT), Iceland (14.51 percent/120,868 MT), Russia (12.82 percent/106,791 MT), EU (6.51 percent/54,228 MT) and the Faroes (5.16 percent/42,982 MT).
This year, the Faroes’ 5.16 percent share would have been around 32,000 MT; a volume Vestergaard said would not reflect the new biological shift.
