The last chance to broker a deal ahead of the coming season failed in February with the Faroe Islands and Iceland once again unable to reach an agreement with Norway and the EU on the size of their respective quotas. The stalemate will, as it did in 2010 and 2011, lead to an abundance of mackerel.
In the wake of the failed negotiations, the Faroes unilaterally set its mackerel quota at 148,375 metric tons, down from 150,000 metric tons last year, which the country’s Minister of Fisheries, Jacob Vestergaard, said reflected the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommendation to decrease in the total allowable catch (TAC) in 2012 to 639,000 metric tons (down from 646,000 metric tons in 2011). It is, however, a much larger quota than EU and Norwegian stakeholders are comfortable with.
For their part, the EU and Norway have since set a bilateral quota agreement of 577,553 metric tons, which allows Norway a total catch of 181,085 metric tons and allocates 396,468 metric tons to the EU.
At press time, Iceland hadn’t confirmed the unilateral TAC that it would be setting for the forthcoming season, but it wasn’t expected to be much less than the 147,000 metric tons it set in 2011. This means the combined northeast Atlantic fleets could be catching close to 900,000 metric tons of mackerel this year — well in excess of ICES’ advice.
While the large volumes landed didn’t noticeably affect prices in either 2010 or 2011 — the 2010 Scottish average landing price was GBP 814 (EUR 797, USD 1,275) per metric ton — it may not be the same this year, particularly as the mackerel fisheries will see their Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability status suspended from Mar. 30 because of the unilateral quota setting and the subsequent increases in fishing activity.
Any effects of the suspended eco-label and a third year of large catches will be known when the fisheries open in the second quarter of the year. For the time being, the sector remains in good financial shape. For example, the value of Norway’s mackerel exports increased 16 percent in 2011, reaching NOK 3.5 billion (EUR 462.9 million, USD 604.5 million) despite exporting less volume.
Norway’s main market was Japan, which imported mackerel worth NOK 1.2 billion (EUR 158.7 million, USD 207.3 million) last year. Russia was the No. 2 market, followed by China and Germany.
The average export price for the 239,000 metric tons of Norwegian mackerel shipped last year was NOK 13.89 (EUR 1.84, USD 2.40) per kilogram, an increase of 31 percent year-on-year.
Coastal state consultations will resume in the autumn to negotiate the 2013 mackerel fishery allocations.
