Marine / Pelagic industry calls on EU to join coastal state agreement
THE BALL is in the court of the EU and Greenland to join a four-party agreement on sustainably managing the fishery of North Atlantic mackerel.
That’s the call from the Scottish pelagic fishing industry after a comprehensive sharing deal on mackerel was reached.
Under the new four-party agreement between the UK, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, fishing pressure will be reduced by a further nine per cent to 299,010 tonnes in a three-year deal.
The UK has a 30.5 per cent share in this total allowable aatch (TAC) with 78 per cent of that (just over 71,000 tonnes) going to the Scottish industry. Shetland accounts for a third of the Scottish pelagic fleet.
Previously there had been a three-party deal between the UK, Norway and the Faroe Islands in place with those coastal states outside the agreement setting their own higher TACs.
Chair of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA), Whalsay fisherman Richard Williamson said: “The inclusion of Iceland within the existing three-party sharing agreement between the UK, Norway and the Faroe Islands clearly brings us closer to a fully comprehensive deal, and we urge both of the remaining coastal States in this fishery – the EU and Greenland – to come aboard.”
The second skipper of the local pelagic trawler Research LK62 added: “After almost four years of talks, it is high time that all parties came together to ensure the long-term viability of the mackerel stock.
“The EU in particular needs to take its responsibilities as seriously as other parties have.” S
peaking on behalf of Shetland Fishermen’s Association, Simon Collins said the UK had given up a significant part of its zonal attachment share of the mackerel fishery to drive progress on quota sharing.
“We all want a six-party deal that includes the EU and Greenland, but not at further cost to ourselves,” he said.
“We are already paying a heavy price, not just in terms of share but also in terms of the sheer concentration of effort in Scottish waters.”
And SPFA chief executive, Ian Gatt added: “Without this four-party arrangement, it would have been nigh impossible to agree a TAC in line with the maximum sustainable yield catch scenario option as outlined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) of 299,010 tonnes.
“We encourage the market to get behind this deal and focus their efforts on the other two parties sitting outside this agreement to make a serious effort to come on board.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
