Iceland and Faroes defy calls to stop plundering mackerel stocks

The EU and Norway have slammed Iceland and the Faroe Islands for failing to give ground over their plundering of mackerel stocks.

The two fishing powers claim that hugely increased catches by Iceland and the Faroes are putting the viability of the entire North East Atlantic mackerel fishery at risk. They met with Icelandic and Faroese authorities in Reykjavik this week in a last-ditch attempt to reach a compromise, but talks ended without any headway being made.

The EU and Norway had built up the mackerel stock on a sustainable basis but that sustainability was being directly threatened, the EU and Norway said in a joint statement issued yesterday.

The Icelandic-Faroese action was “inconsistent with sustainable management and in violation of international commitments by Iceland and the Faroe Islands to co-operate with other parties”, it said.

Iceland increased its mackerel catch in the Icelandic zone from almost zero in 2006, to 156,802 tonnes in 2011. Similarly, the Faroe Islands increased their catch six-fold, to 150,000 tonnes, in 2011.