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THE Faroese fishing boat at the centre of the mackerel row yesterday has now left Peterhead and headed back out to sea with its catch still on board.
Protesters stopped the trawler Jupiter from landing its catch of mackerel in protest at the decision by the Faroe Islands to hand itself a unilateral mackerel quota of 85,000 tons. There is similar anger over Iceland's decision to give itself a 130,000 ton quota.
The move has brought condemnation from the European Union and from Norway and there has been talk of a total ban on seafood (including white fish like cod and haddock) from the two countries, although as yet it has not been suggested by any governments or official authorities. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation has also strongly criticised Iceland and the Faroe Islands, warning that its action will impact on the livelihood of SFF members.
The Peterhead incident is the second such protest over a Faroese mackerel boat in Scotland in the past few weeks. Yesterday the trawler was met by dozens of protesters who created a blockade on the quayside to stop the vessel from landing around 1,000 tons of fish. The police stood by but the protest passed off peacefully.
The Jupiter's skipper Emil Pedersen said he was in a "very bad" situation and argued that the dispute was a political issue which should be sorted out by politicians.
So far neither the Icelandic or Faroese governments have shown any signs of backing down and their respective fishing vessel owner organisations have defended the quotas saying they were both legally and morally right because the two countries had been sidelined in international negotiations.
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