Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), fisheries conservation policy is an exclusive Union competence. The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, consults with third countries in relation to shared stocks, including highly migratory pelagic stocks such as Mackerel and Blue Whiting.
From 2014 to 2020, Mackerel was managed under a UN Coastal States Agreement that involved the EU, Norway and the Faroe Islands. Iceland had refused to participate in the management agreement and the three parties to the agreement set aside a significant share of the share of the stock (15.6%) to cater for catches by Iceland as well as non-Coastal states Greenland and the Russian Federation. In 2021, the parties were unable to agree on a new sharing arrangement. Consequently, there is currently no Coastal States Agreement on Mackerel in place.
In 2021 and 2022, both Norway and the Faroe Islands unilaterally increased their respective Mackerel quotas by 55%. Iceland have also set unilateral quotas in excess of the 15.6% set aside in the 2014 agreement for three parties.
For Blue whiting, it has been a similar situation with no sharing arrangement since 2014.
I have consistently made clear that these unilateral and unjustified actions by Norway, Faroes and Iceland is a direct threat to the sustainability of the overall mackerel fishery and the future of the Irish pelagic fishing industry.
The European Commission has been proactive in trying to progress negotiations on sharing arrangements with the various parties, particularly with regard to Mackerel. Consultations on a new Mackerel sharing arrangement commenced earlier this year and are currently ongoing. I have on every possible occasion expressed my strong concerns about these unsustainable actions by third countries in our shared pelagic fisheries. As the largest Mackerel quota shareholder in the EU, Ireland, supported by other concerned Member States, has engaged extensively with the Fisheries Commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, the Director-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Charlina Vitcheva, and their teams of negotiators. I am satisfied that the Commission, in close cooperation with Member States, is fully engaged with counterparts in these third countries and is continuing to clearly express the EU's deep concerns regarding their ongoing unsustainable actions. Director-General Vitcheva visited Norway and Iceland as recently as last month in advance of the current round of consultations to express the clear EU position.
My position is equally clear, we need to agree on a long term sustainable and fair sharing arrangement for Mackerel that respects the EU’s, and in turn Ireland’s, proper share of the global TAC. I can assure the Deputy that Ireland’s position is consistently being set down at every opportunity, and that I and my officials are centrally involved in the ongoing consultations.
