Pelagic quota concerns

The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA) said that this includes quotas for Northeast Atlantic mackerel, Atlanto-Scandian herring and Northeast Atlantic blue whiting.

NAPA has produced an open letter to ministers, which sets out the market’s position in advance of quota allocation talks taking place next month.

”Coastal States haven’t been able to reach an agreement on pelagic catch shares in over a decade,” the letter states.

”This year isn’t looking much different; whilst all countries have committed to stick to scientific limits in 2022, some are already setting quotas before entering into allocation talks. Will they put national interests aside for the sake of sustainable shared fisheries?”

Purchasing power

NAPA said that the letter serves as another reminder from the global marketplace for seafood that we need to see sustainable fishing in the Northeast Atlantic.

As a collective of over 50 global businesses with a €800 million share of Northeast Atlantic pelagic seafood purchasing, NAPA said it is directly invested in the responsible, science-driven management of stocks.

”We want to underscore in the strongest terms that the current situation in the Northeast Atlantic is environmentally unsustainable,” the letter continues.

NAPA warns that inaction will drive the supply chain to re-think their purchasing decisions. To date, 21 NAPA partners have made public statements setting out the consequences of continued management failure.

Nine companies have said they will review their sourcing, five will no longer source from these fisheries, four will only source from Coastal States acting ‘responsibly’ and three have noted the negative business impacts they would face.

The letter calls on ministers to work constructively in advance of next month’s quota sharing discussions to avoid repercussions.

NAPA members include retail giants including Asda and Aldi and seafood producers including Skagen and Cargill.