For the first time ever, the EU, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have reached agreement on the allocation of blue whiting
For more than six years, the coastal states had tried, unsuccessfully, to reach agreement on blue whiting, which has meant that for several years catches have been almost twice as large as those recommended by biologists.
Negotiations started in Copenhagen on Sunday, 31.October and initially it looked as if they would break down once again. However, after hectic telephone activity across the North Atlantic in the course of 1. November, the parties reached a late-night agreement.
The agreement implies that a 2-million-ton ceiling will be imposed on the 2006 catches. The ceiling will be gradually lowered to 1.5 million tons over a five-year period. This means that, for the first time, the necessary framework for sustainable fishery has been established. According to the agreement, the EU will be allocated approximately 30 per cent of the blue whiting quota, which gives the EU the largest share.
The parties also agreed to permit flexibility regarding quota management, which implies that quotas may be transferred between fishing years within a ten per cent limit.
Danish blue whiting fishery takes place primarily in the North Sea and the North Atlantic. It constitutes an important part of Danish industrial fishing.
”I am very pleased that we, at the meeting in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, have finally succeeded in concluding an international agreement on blue whiting. The agreement means that blue whiting fishery will now be brought under control, and we will have paved the way for responsible management of this stock,” says the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Hans Christian Schmidt, who continues:
”It is very encouraging that we have reached agreement on flexible management of blue whiting quotas. We will now be able to transfer quotas between two fishing years, and it is very significant that we with an EU share of 30 per cent have made it possible for the important Danish blue whiting fishery to meet future requirements.”
In the weeks ahead, the agreement on quota allocations is to be supplemented with individual agreements between the coastal states regarding reciprocal access to catching blue whiting in each other's fishing zones.
Blue whiting moves in shoals in the waters from the Bay of Biscay to the North Atlantic. The species may be caught in waters under the jurisdiction of the EU, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Russia, as well as in international waters.
