Stakes were raised in the ongoing North Atlantic mackerel conflict as the Faroe Islands decided to unilaterally increase its TAC to a degree even Iceland described as “out of proportion”.
The Faroe 150,000 tonne gambit – called “grossly irresponsible” by Scottish sector interests, who noted it exceeded scientific advice – came the week after tri-lateral negotiations in Oslo between the EU, Norway and Iceland had broken down, however on a hopeful note.
The Icelandic chief negotiator had said his country was willing to be “more flexible”, and the head of the Norwegian delegation said that “things are moving”.
On the Faroe decision, Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said that “in effect they have massively increased their quota five-fold.”
“Their behaviour is grossly irresponsible and puts at real risk a stock that has been carefully nurtured and looked after by the Scottish fleet. If every nation unilaterally increased their quotas five-fold, then there would be no fish left in the sea.”
His fisheries minister Richard Lochhead reacted in no less outraged words:
“This is nothing short of an outrageous mackerel grab by the Faroes, who are determined to seek short-term profit, at the expense of the sustainability of the stock, rather than come to a reasonable agreement with the other nations who share the mackerel fishery.”