The EU and Norway clash over mackerel with the EU threatening retaliation. Photo: MS VEA
The EU and Norway are set to clash again on the issue of Norway’s perceived overfishing of mackerel, but the Norwegian Minister for Fisheries claims science is on their side.
The Norwegian News Agency NTB has obtained access to a letter sent to the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Bjørnar Skjæran (Labour Party) in August, in which the EU’s Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries is sharply critical of Norway.
In the letter dated 07 August, Virginijus Sinkevicius accuses Norway, among other things, of overfishing mackerel, as reported by E24. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Bjørnar Skjæran (Labour Party) rejects the criticism.
“EU regrets the unilateral increase in the Norwegian quota and remains deeply concerned about the negative impact this has on the important stock that we share and the economic consequences for our fishing fleet,” Sinkevicius writes in the letter.
He points out that Norway has granted itself a share of 31.99 percent of the total mackerel quota agreed between the so-called coastal states – the EU, Norway, Great Britain, Iceland and the Faroe Islands – in 2022.
That is a whopping 42 percent more compared to the fisheries agreement that was concluded in 2014, Sinkevicius rages
EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius
“This undermines the efforts of other coastal states to establish stable mackerel quotas in the absence of an agreement and contravenes the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” states the letter.
The mackerel’s changed migration patterns and lack of agreement on distribution are among the backdrop of EU’s dissatisfaction.
The 2014 agreement expired in 2020. Since then, Norway and the EU have argued about how the mackerel quota, which has risen to become one of the most valuable fish stocks in Europe, should be distributed. Without success.
The fact is that since 2014, the mackerel, which has traditionally lived in both Norwegian, British and international waters, has changed its migration pattern, according to Norwegian fisheries research.
Now, the Norwegians believe there are simply more mackerel swimming in Norwegian waters than before. The Norwegian position is that this gives Norway the right to fish more of the stock, but when there is more fishing in Norway, there will be less mackerel migrating into international waters, where they spawn before heading north. The EU fishing fleet usually fish the mackerel on their journey south from northern waters for spawning.
According to NTB, the Commissioner also issues a threat of measures against Norway:
“If this unsustainable situation continues, the EU may have to consider appropriate measures,” Sinkevicius writes.
The Commissioner has been asked to elaborate on the possible measures but has not yet received a response.
Bjørnar Skjæran, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Bjørnar Skjæran (Labour Party) rejects the criticism, according to NTB.
“Norway has a lot of mackerel in our economic zone, and our national quota is based on this. The quota the EU is demanding is higher than they have a biological claim to, and we hope that they will make more realistic demands in the next round of negotiations,” he told NTB:
“The negotiations on mackerel start up again on 26 September. But before that, on 18 September, the EU’s agriculture and fisheries ministers will meet in Brussels. On the agenda is, among other things, the relationship with Norway.”
At the same time, the Norwegian side admitted that there is an overfishing of mackerel today, but argue a new agreement must be rooted in the mackerel’s actual migration pattern, or “zonal affiliation” as it is called in diplomatic parlance.
“For Norway, it is important that the coastal states come to an agreement so that we avoid too much mackerel being fished. It should be possible to reach a solution this autumn, but neither party can expect to have their primary positions fulfilled,” says Skjæran.
“There are large values to be distributed. That makes it difficult to agree,” he concluded.
