I thank the Chairman for the invitation to address the committee. The total allowable catch, TAC, and quota is the central element of the annual negotiations on the Common Fisheries Policy and the specific regulation we are discussing today pertains to amendments that arose from discussions between the EU and Norway following the December Council.
Normally, the December Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers sets the TACs and quotas for various fish stocks for the following year. This regulation sets out the amount of fish Irish and other European fishermen can catch and has a direct bearing on the economic well-being of our fishing sector and the communities depending on it. Other aspects of what is commonly known as the TAC and quota regulation include giving legal effect to other fishery conservation and management measures, as well as third party agreements with other countries. Council Regulation (EU) No. 53/2010 of 14 January 2010 fixed for 2010 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks. The package of fish quotas and other conservation measures for 2010 were agreed at the December 2009 Agriculture and Fisheries Council after a marathon 36 hours of intensive negotiations. The then Minister of State at this Department, Deputy Tony Killeen, represented Ireland at those negotiations.
However, the inability of the EU and Norway to conclude successfully a bilateral agreement on a number of jointly managed stocks, in particular arrangements for the mackerel fishery in 2010, overshadowed the December 2009 meeting. The impasse made it impossible to agree final arrangements for the various fish stocks involved in the so-called northern fisheries agreements, which also include bilateral agreements with the Faroe Islands and a number of multilateral agreements, including with Iceland and Russia, on the management of certain fish stocks in which Ireland has an interest. These stocks, which are highly migratory, are found at particular times of the year in the waters of Norway, in EU or Faroe Islands waters or, in some cases, in Icelandic or international waters. They must be managed jointly and require international agreements each year in order to have a management framework. Stocks of particular interest to Ireland involved in the northern agreements include mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandic herring.
Consultations with the other parties in whose waters these fish are found are an integral part of the EU fisheries landscape and although each negotiation is a separate strand, all are linked. The lack of an agreement between the EU and Norway meant that the normal annual agreement between the EU and the Faroe Islands could not be concluded. Because of this situation, temporary measures had to be put in place by Council Regulation (EU) No. 53/2010 to allow fishing commence on those affected stocks for the spring fishery in EU waters. In the case of many of these fisheries fishing commences in late January or early February.
If that had not been possible there was a real danger that our pelagic fishing fleet, in particular, would have been severely limited in terms of the amount of the mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandic herring it could have caught in the early part of the year which is the most economically lucrative time. However, as Minister of State, Deputy Killeen secured a provisional quota for those stocks including mackerel — by far the most important — that allowed our fleet to fish up to 65% of the 2009 quota level in the first months of this year, pending final agreement being reached with Norway on the 2010 fishing opportunities.
On 26 January, after a marathon eight-day session, the EU and Norway were able to agree a package of measures on the jointly held stocks and, most important, a separate long-term management arrangement on mackerel. That is a very important aspect for Ireland. On 15 January the EU and the Faroe Islands also concluded an agreement on all aspects of joint interest except mackerel.
As the EU and Norway collectively have the lion's share of the mackerel stock — approximately 95% of the total allowable catch, TAC, with the balance being available mainly to the Faroe Islands — they agreed an overall TAC figure of 572,000 tonnes for 2010. This was based on scientific advice from the international committee for the exploration of the seas, ICES. That 572,000 tonnes has been allocated on the basis of the previous shares and Ireland now has a final quota for 2010 of 62,641 tonnes. This is Ireland's most important fishery, and, depending on prices achieved, can be worth close to €100 million to the economy annually.
Ultimately, agreement with Norway enabled the adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 219/2010 of 15 March, which amended the December Council Regulation (EU) 53/2010 and set the final arrangements for fishing opportunities for 2010 for all the stocks subject to the previous temporary arrangements.
It is important to note that an associated and critical issue on the mackerel stock and future sharing arrangements remains. Mackerel is the most lucrative of the pelagic stocks in our waters. It is a highly migratory species and normally migrates from Norway around Christmas and the beginning of the new year, moving across the North Sea via Scotland, down along the west coast of Ireland to the south west and thence to the Bay of Biscay as far as the north coast of Spain which it reaches by April-May. Stocks are fished along the way. It then repeats that migration in reverse, starting in late August or early September. As a migratory species it moves according to its feeding and spawning habits. The evidence suggests the migratory pattern for mackerel is changing again in a north-westerly direction. It is now to be found in Icelandic waters, though its abundance there is unclear. I will return to this point, which is important for Ireland.
Mackerel proved the stumbling block in the negotiations with Norway which, in addition to the nine day session in Brussels in January, spanned three earlier sessions, two of which were held in Bergen and one in Brussels. Negotiations with Norway are normally complex and for 2010 the complexity was exacerbated by the failure to reach agreement on mackerel at the coastal states forum, a forum involving the Faroe Islands, Norway and the EU. The detailed management arrangements for mackerel are normally dealt with at the coastal states forum. At a coastal states meeting convened in Clonakilty in October, it was evident that both the EU and Norway sought to enter into a new long-term arrangement on the management of mackerel that would encompass such issues as reciprocal access, control, inter-annual quota flexibilities and a number of other items. It was not possible to reach agreement between the parties at that meeting or at a subsequent second round in Edinburgh, due mainly to a refusal by the Faroe Islands to negotiate unless it was guaranteed more quota. As the largest shareholders of the stock, Norway and the EU sought to progress the matter bilaterally, especially with a mind to taking a unified stance on talks with Iceland this year. This proved very difficult to achieve due to a number of factors. New control arrangements were introduced in August in the mackerel fishery on foot of evidence of misreporting by Norwegian vessels in the North Sea in respect of where mackerel was caught.
In October the EU waters in the North Sea, which are of interest to Norway, were closed to Norwegian vessels because they had reached their access limit as set out in the 2009 agreement. Norway disputed this fact and sought to have the agreement revised. Added to the mix was the question of dealing with Iceland's Olympic fishery. Mackerel has appeared in Icelandic waters and Iceland is setting its own tax and quota for what it wishes to take. Independent total allowable mackerel catches were set subsequently by Norway and the Faroe Islands and there was a further demand by the Faroe Islands for additional quota.
Since mackerel is now to be found in the waters of Iceland, it has taken a very aggressive stance and its decision to prosecute a mackerel fishery since 2008 with claimed, though not verified, landings exceeding 100,000 tonnes per year has added much concern about the long-term viability of the stock following many years of prudent management. Iceland has set a unilateral total allowable catch of 130,000 tonnes for 2010, most of which it must fish in its own waters. The development of the Icelandic fishery and the setting of its distinct total allowable catches were the main reasons the Faroe Islands would not agree to any long-term deal. The Faroe Islands feared Iceland would ultimately agree a deal with a greater share of the stock to its share.
Initial talks with Iceland on management of mackerel were held in London in May 2009 without agreement. A fresh initiative was entered into after the successful conclusion of the EU Norway talks in January. A four day meeting was held in Ålesund, Norway from 15 March to 18 March. The participants included the EU, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and, as observers, Russia. This was seen as a starting point in a process to agree comprehensive management and sharing arrangements for the mackerel stock. No agreement was reached, although agreement was not expected, and a further session is to commence in Iceland on Monday next, 19 April.
The Faroe Islands have now complicated the matter further with a statement by its Minister that if agreement is not reached next week, it will declare its total allowable catch of not more than 130,000 tonnes. It believes its historical track record in the fishery entitles it to a higher share than Iceland. If allowed to continue, Iceland's so-called Olympic or free fishery, along with the Faroese threat, if acted upon, could only harm the health and sustainability of the mackerel stock. It is essential in all our interests, especially those of Irish fishermen and our pelagic processing factories, that an accommodation can be reached. However, there does not appear to be a move towards compromise. Either way, if and when Iceland is persuaded to follow agreed management practices and agrees to a multilateral arrangement for mackerel stock, it will result in a reduction of the share of the European Union. As a consequence, there will be a reduction of Ireland's mackerel quota. However, a mitigating factor is the long-term arrangement entered into with Norway. The agreement foresees future discussions with Iceland, encompasses all management issues and enables the Norwegian and European Union pelagic fleets to have a more efficient, stable and secure fishery into the future. It also cements the relative sharing quota arrangement between the European Union and Norway which will remain constant after the Faroe Islands and Iceland agree to a new coastal arrangement. In effect, it has been agreed that Norway will not seek to take advantage of what has to be conceded to the Faroe Islands and Iceland and that there will be a proportionate payment. It will also allow both parties to commence talks with the Faroe Islands and Iceland from a position of unified strength.
That is the background to the regulation. It is an adjustment of the December TAC quota regulation from the Council of Ministers because of the subsequent agreements with Norway and the Faroe Islands. The agreements also enable discussions with Iceland to commence.
