Posted on 19 August
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.”
