The 43rd annual meeting of the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), which concluded on 15 November 2024, faced challenges in achieving consensus on the sustainable management of fish stocks, on the control and monitoring of fishing activities, and on how to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to the European Commission.
NEAFC includes the European Union, representatives from Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation.
At the meeting, the EU expressed concerns over the absence of a compliance report for the first time in NEAFC’s history. The European Commission explained that serious infringements to NEAFC rules involving vessels from some NEAFC parties have not been formally recognised by the organisation and will not be followed up. Infringements of other fleets operating in the NEAFC area will also face no sanctions.
In a statement, the Commission said: “The EU regrets that no other parties called on Russia to cease fishing activities that appear to be illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) and to take enforcement action in relevant cases. Russian vessels have been engaging in bottom fishing outside the designated bottom fishing areas, and without notifying NEAFC. Fishing outside those areas is prohibited under the NEAFC recommendation aimed at protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems.”
It continued: “The EU opposed granting the status of cooperating non-contracting party to Panama and Bahamas and proposed listing several vessels from those countries in the NEAFC IUU list due to detected infringements and insufficient enforcement measures.”
The Commission noted that NEAFC adopted several key recommendations to protect fish stocks, including:
- Setting catch limits for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring in line with scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The Commission commented: “Despite agreeing on the commitment to set catch limits, the EU regrets the lack of comprehensive sharing arrangements and the non-cooperative attitude towards the EU in the coastal states’ consultations for Atlanto-Scandian herring. The EU called for decisive action to ensure the sustainable management of pelagic stocks.”
- Prohibiting directed fisheries on stocks of redfish in the Irminger Sea from 2025 to 2027 to allow them to recover. Again, the Commission advised: “Despite previous prohibitions, Russia has undertaken directed and unsustainable fishing activities on these stocks. NEAFC decided to continue restricting port services for vessels carrying redfish catches. However, the current measures have not proven to be restrictive. At the initiative of the EU, NEAFC decided that Russian vessels fishing for Irminger Sea redfish would lose the right to access the ports of the EU. The EU urged NEAFC parties to introduce the same measures as soon as possible, and to restrict Russian vessels fishing for Irminger Sea redfish access to their waters to prevent unsustainable fishing.”
- Implementing measures to protect porbeagle, spurdog and orange roughy, which are vulnerable to overfishing. These measures include prohibiting directed fisheries for porbeagle and orange roughy in certain areas and setting catch limits for spurdog to prevent overfishing.
NEAFC will work towards the implementation of these recommendations and measures, with the aim of ensuring the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and the protection of the marine ecosystem. Meanwhile, the EU will continue to advocate for greater cooperation and compliance from all parties to address the challenges and concerns raised during the meeting.
Decisions on whether it is appropriate to grant the status of cooperating non-contracting parties to Panama and Bahamas and amending the NEAFC IUU list will be taken in the first-half of 2025.
