Europe’s mackerel dispute has flared again at top-level fish talks in Brussels.
The row over how quotas for the fish in the north-east Atlantic should be split among nations took an unexpected twist, with renewed efforts to get Faroe to sign up to an international agreement.
Industry chiefs in Scotland are now pondering what will happen next.
Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association chief executive Ian Gatt told the Press and Journal yesterday he was still in the dark about the terms of an “improved offer” made to Faroe last week by EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki.
There is a also a counter offer on the table from Norway, which is expected to carry pan-European industry support.
Mr Gatt said Brussels seemed to be working on a political deal without “engaging with” EU member states.
“It’s unclear what is going on,” he added.
The mackerel impasse has dragged on for years because of the reluctance of Faroe and Iceland to accept EU and Norwegian terms.
It threatens to delay a deal on next year’s quotas for white fish in the North Sea, with Norway trying to get the best outcome it can from multinational talks on various shared stocks in the new year.
The European Commission (EC) put the issue on the agenda for this week’s Fisheries Council, saying “all avenues should be exhausted in this critical phase of the mackerel negotiations in order to reach agreement”.
Faroe and Iceland have repeatedly raised their annual mackerel quotas in defiance of international efforts to strike a deal, saying that global warming has shifted more of the fish into their waters.
Shetland MSP Tavish Scott fears that the longer the dispute drags on, the more likely it is there will be a rushed and bad agreement.
Highlighting the potential for “endless delays” in quota-setting for white fish boats due to the mackerel situation, Mr Scott said: “That must be avoided, but not at the cost of rewarding those who have fished illegally and ridden roughshod over international agreements.”
Meanwhile, the UK and Scottish fisheries ministers – George Eustice and Richard Lochhead – will today continue their battle against automatic rollover cuts in days at sea.
They are also urging fellow fisheries ministers from around the EU to back their case for a 10% increase in North Sea cod quota, in line with scientific evidence of a healthier stock.
Mr Eustice said that a freeze on fishing time for the UK’s hard-pressed fleet was his “number one ask”.
His other priorities include securing more flexible rules for monkfish and less drastic quota reductions than the EC has proposed for prawns in the Irish Sea and haddock in the Celtic Sea.
Mr Lochhead said the first day’s talks were constructive, adding: “It has been encouraging that all parties are engaging again on mackerel to get a deal done, though we are not there yet.
“We are firm that this will not be at any price and Scotland’s interest will be at the heart of it.”