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The Coastal States have today signed an agreement on a total quota of 782,066 tonnes of Northeast Atlantic mackerel for 2023
Norway, the EU, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom have today signed an agreement on a total quota of 782,066 tonnes of Northeast Atlantic mackerel for 2023.
This is in line with the advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and means a decrease from the quota for 2022, which was 794,920 tonnes.
“I am very pleased that we have now finally set a total quota for mackerel. This is something we have worked for for a long time and which means a lot for the fishermen, and for sustainable management of this important fish stock,” said Norwegian Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bjørnar Skjæran.
He continued, “We hope that the remaining questions will be resolved at the beginning of next year. The ministry will nevertheless create a preliminary quota for 2023, so that those who need it can start their fishing already from the turn of the year.”
Despite several rounds of negotiations throughout 2022, there has still not been a complete agreement on the issues of distribution of the stocks and management plan for mackerel.
They agreed that they would continue to meet several times in February and March 2023 to take forward their consultations, which would take place in London and Nuuk (Greenland). They further agreed on a hard deadline of 31 March 2023 for final agreement. The delegations also agreed that the UK would continue to lead these consultations until 31 March.
A statement said: “The delegations agreed, that in anticipation of agreeing a new suite of management measures, they would each initially set quotas for 2023 at levels which would contribute to a conducive environment for the conclusion of their consultations. Delegations shall inform each other of the quotas set ahead of resuming these consultations.”
The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association said the delegations noted that they had conducted several rounds of negotiations in 2022 to agree a new suite of management measures for the stock in 2023 and beyond, including a “comprehensive, inclusive and long-term quota-sharing arrangement and a new long term management strategy.”
