Posted on August, 19 2010

Brussels, Belgium – The current escalating ‘mackerel war’ pitting the EU and Norway against Iceland and the Faroe Islands can be linked back to an absence of agreed management plans and a failure to respect scientific advice, WWF said yesterday.

The scramble for mackerel, likely at current rates to see the combined total of national quotas being more than a third over the scientific recommendations, has been dubbed "anarchic" by the European Commission.

“Failed multiparty negotiations with unilateral quota setting as a result are no less than a death sentence for our precious fish stocks,” says Louize Hill, WWF Marine Policy Officer. 

  “The three nations’ governments and EU officials have to try harder at brokering a regional fishery agreement, with all relevant stakeholders and based on sound scientific advice, for the mackerel stock.

"Mackerel is a migratory fish which is expanding northwest into Icelandic waters because of global warming. Since we can hardly blame the fish for adapting to climate change, our leaders have to take responsibility for managing the mackerel stock holistically, through agreed but flexible management plans.”

Continuing certification depends on viable agreement

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has already warned that the continuing certification of  fisheries harvesting Northeast Atlantic mackerel is conditional on the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring and managing the combined catch of all the nations before the end of 2011.  This should be consistent with the scientific recommendations on the sustainable catch, which are issued by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

WWF is calling on all involved parties not to jeopardize the future of one of the few fish stocks considered healthy and not overexploited at present.

“They can demonstrate good leadership by resolving this dispute and agreeing to jointly and sustainably manage the mackerel stock rather than consciously depleting it for short term gain,” Louize Hill adds.

“To avoid empty oceans and seas, we urgently need responsible management of fisheries to go hand in hand with stakeholder involvement at a regional level. The mackerel war is as much an illustration of this as Europe’s missed opportunities to adequately reform its Common Fisheries Policy.”