Fisheries minister Jacob Vestergaard has underlined the continued commitment of the Faroe Islands to finding a new and lasting solution for joint management of the northeast Atlantic mackerel stock.
“This is not, however, an issue the Faroe Islands can resolve alone”, Vestergaard said. “It requires sincere effort and co-operation on the part of all four coastal states to reach agreement on a new arrangement for the allocation of this shared resource that can provide us all with a workable basis for the long-term sustainable management of our respective mackerel fisheries”.
Vestergaard stressed that for the Faroe Islands, pelagic fisheries in the northeast Atlantic have enormous significance in terms of the overall national economy. Co-operation on the sustainable management of all shared stocks in the region, including the mackerel stock, is therefore crucial.
“Responsible management of mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic must be based on the realities of the fishery today, taking into account the ecological role and fluctuations in distribution of the mackerel stock in the region,” he said Minister. “Changes in the distribution and migration pattern of mackerel are evident, showing a more pronounced north western distribution of both juvenile and adult mackerel, and this needs to be reflected in a new sharing arrangement covering the entire fishery.“
With no agreed multilateral management arrangement for northeast Atlantic mackerel in 2010, the Ministry of Fisheries has decided to limit Faroese mackerel fisheries to 85,000 tonnes. This includes quotas transferred to Iceland, the EU, Norway and Russia through bilateral agreements, as well as an amount set aside for dedicated scientific research on mackerel abundance and distribution in Faroese waters.
The other coastal States, Norway, the EU and Iceland, as well as the Russian Federation, have also set what they believe to be appropriate limits for their respective fisheries in 2010, without an agreed coastal states arrangement as a basis.
“The current situation with aggregated unilateral quotas far exceeding the total allowable catch (TAC) advised by ICES is of serious concern. But it is certainly not a situation for which the Faroe Islands are solely responsible” said Vestergaard.
Total unilateral mackerel quotas for 2010 were already 40% above the TAC recommended by ICES, prior to any quota set by the Faroe Islands, with the unilateral quotas set by the EU and Norway alone exceeding the recommended TAC.
Vestergaard expressed his concern that the recent ban announced by Norway on mackerel landings from Faroese and Icelandic vessels, as well as calls from industry organisations in the EU and Norway for trade sanctions and other measures targeting the Faroe Islands in particular, run counter to the need for co-operation on all sides to bring joint management of mackerel back on track.
“With an important round of four-party consultations scheduled for October 2010, the time has come for all coastal States to take a constructive approach to the challenges we face in adapting joint management of mackerel to new realities in the fisheries, in order to find a sustainable solution, not just for 2011, but for the long-term,” said Vestergaard.
Earlier this week, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation called on the Faroese to reverse their decision to set their own quota and rejoin the previously operated international regime of fisheries management.
