KFO criticises Russian and Greenland-registered vessels for unregulated mackerel fishing in international waters amid stock concerns. Image: Fish Facts
Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation Slams High Seas Mackerel Exploitation
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has issued a stark warning about the ongoing unregulated summer mackerel fishery in international waters, accusing Russian and Greenlandic fleets of undermining conservation efforts at a time when the stock is in decline and the European pelagic sector is awaiting critical scientific advice from ICES.
According to the KFO, over the past three weeks, five Greenlandic vessels and more than 28 Russian freezer trawlers have been engaged in near-continuous surface trawling in the Northeast Atlantic, outside the control of any effective monitoring regime.
The statement highlights that hauls lasting over twelve hours are targeting low-quality, post-spawning mackerel during a biologically vulnerable feeding phase, resulting in high levels of non-target bycatch and fish only suitable for industrial reduction to fishmeal.
“This is an utterly wasteful use of a commercially and ecologically important stock,” the KFO said, calling the current situation “deeply irresponsible” given the precarious status of the mackerel population.
Faroese Role in Landings Under Scrutiny
The KFO also criticised the role of Faroese processing facilities, where Greenlandic vessels are reportedly landing their mackerel. Russian vessels are additionally operating within Faroese waters before returning to the high seas to continue fishing.
“The Faroese are facilitating this exploitation by accepting and processing fish caught under conditions no responsible coastal state would tolerate,” the KFO stated.
Although Russia officially reports annual mackerel landings of approximately 120,000 tonnes, the KFO suggests this figure may be far below the actual volume being taken. “The combined catching and freezing capacity of the vessels fishing in the international zone far exceeds that of other nations involved in the mackerel fishery,” the organisation warned.
With no agreed sharing arrangement in place for mackerel, these activities continue outside the EU’s control, raising concerns not only about sustainability but also about equity between compliant and non-compliant states.
Questioning Greenland’s Entitlement
The KFO also challenged the legitimacy of Greenland’s participation in the mackerel fishery, noting that the country had no recorded mackerel catches prior to 2011. Greenland developed its fishery only during a temporary eastward expansion of the stock into Greenlandic waters. Since 2020, all of Greenland’s mackerel has been caught exclusively in international waters, with average annual catches of around 30,000 tonnes.
“The stock has since contracted back to its natural migratory pattern, and Greenland has no biological basis to be fishing mackerel now,” the KFO argued. “Should either of these nations be fishing mackerel at all?”
The organisation warned that unmonitored high seas activity is becoming an existential threat to the sustainability of the Northeast Atlantic mackerel stock and urged the European Commission and coastal states to act decisively.
With the 2025 ICES stock assessment due imminently, the KFO said the continued exploitation by Russian and Greenlandic vessels risks pushing the stock further below safe biological limits, while undermining science-based management frameworks followed by EU fleets.
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