News / Faroe invites EU to mackerel summit
EUROPEAN, Faroese and Icelandic fisheries ministers will air their differences at an international summit on mackerel to be held in Torshavn next week.
Scottish Tory MSP Struan Stevenson has said he will attend the summit from 7 to 9 September, entitled ‘The Pelagic Complex in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean’, along with ministers from all the Nordic countries.
Mr Stevenson pointed out that the disagreement began when Iceland increased their mackerel quota from 2,000 to 130,000 tonnes overnight, an increase of 6,500 per cent. Faroe soon followed by more than tripling their quota from 25,000 to 85,000 tonnes.
He said combined with the national quotas of Norway and half a dozen EU members states, one third of the 2.6 million tonne mackerel stock in the north Atlantic could be wiped out in a single year, jeopardising its long term health.
Iceland has already caught 75 per cent of its new quota, while Norway has banned Icelandic and Faroese vessels from unloading at its ports.
Peterhead fishermen stopped a Faroese trawler from landing its catch recently and calls have been made for more direct action against the two countries.
Mr Stevenson said: “I sincerely hope that we can resolve this dispute through negotiation, although given that Iceland has already admitted catching 75 per cent of its massively-increased quota, extreme urgency is now required to prevent a catastrophe in mackerel stocks.
“I have argued throughout this dispute that we need to negotiate from a position of strength, using the possibility of a blockade of Icelandic and Faroese fishing boats as a bargaining tool just as Norway has done.
“Some have said this threatens jobs in Scotland, but Iceland and the Faroes have far more to lose, as their economies are heavily dependent on fishing. Of course, we will all suffer if the mackerel fishery is destroyed.
“I am more than willing to extend the olive branch, but they must know that we mean business.”
Faroe’s politicians and fishermen have defended their actions, accusing Europe and Norway of hypocrisy by granting themselves an inflated mackerel quota while excluding Faroe from the negotiating table.
They also say that the mackerel stock has moved westwards over the last few years and their actions reflect the current status of the stock.
The summit was welcomed by Scottish fisheries secretary Richard Lochhead, who said he was working closely with European Union fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki and UK fisheries minister Richard Benyon to find a resolution to the current impasse.
“We need everyone back around the negotiating table and to come to a reasonable agreement as soon as possible,” Mr Lochhead said.
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