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Overfishing threatens to destroy mackerel stocks in the North Atlantic, according to The Nordic Council’s Environment Committee which is calling on the food and fisheries ministers to do something about it, starting at their meeting in Finland next week.
The recommended quota for mackerel fishing in the North Atlantic in 2011 is 646,000 tons but the fishing nations in the region plan to overfish by up to 50%. Meanwhile, the EU Commission has submitted proposals for a new and sustainable fisheries policy.
The conflict involves the EU and Norway on the one hand, Iceland and the Faroe Islands on the other. So far, the parties have been unable to agree on an allocation of quotas that complies with the recommendations set by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
The Nordic Council is now demanding that the food and fisheries ministers address the issue at their meeting in Finland, 7-8 July.
“As Nordic MPs we can’t just sit back and watch while the authorities allow valuable natural resources to be plundered. Once again, we urge the parties to resume negotiations, and in particular we call upon the ministers to guarantee sustainable fishing in our own Nordic waters,” says Øyvind Halleraker of the Nordic Council Environment Committee.
In January, the committee sent an open letter to EU Commission and the governments of the countries involved, calling on them to reach a compromise.
The Nordic Council would also like to see more joint research on the impact of climate change on fisheries. Warmer waters mean changing fish stocks, so the Council wants a better basis upon which future quotas and fishing policy can be negotiated.
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