Jamie McGrigor, Highlands & Islands MSP and Scottish Conservative Fisheries Spokesman, today questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead, on the recent failure of talks in Edinburgh - involving the EU, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands - aimed at reaching an agreement on the ongoing international disagreement on mackerel allocation.
In recent years, Iceland and the Faroes have started fishing vastly increased amounts of mackerel outwith any international management agreements, leading to fears for the sustainability of the North East Atlantic mackerel stock, which is crucial to the Scottish pelagic fleet and worth around £130 million annually to the Scottish economy.
Greenland has also, this year, announced a unilateral mackerel quota, and new concerns have been voiced that Iceland is seeking to use a legal loophole to access this quota also.
Jamie used an item he submitted for today’s Topical Question Time in the Scottish Parliament to challenge the Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet Secretary said that he was “very disappointed” that no agreement had been reached last week in what had been the best opportunity to reach a deal in years; further talks would be held in London this week but without Icelandic input. Mr Lochhead assured Jamie that he personally would raise with the EU Fisheries Commissioner Ms Maria Damanaki the issue of Iceland’s use of Greenland’s mackerel quota.
Speaking afterwards, Jamie, who has consistently urged the Scottish Government and the EU to take decisive action against Iceland and the Faroes, said:
“Like the Scottish Government and Scottish pelagic fishermen, I am very disappointed that after four years we still seem to be as far away as ever from reaching an agreement on the crucial issue of international mackerel quotas. The uncertainty is incredibly frustrating and unsettling for our pelagic fishermen, whose sector is so important to our economy.
“As Bertie Armstrong, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, has said, the failure of these talks has a knock-on effect in that it makes North Sea stock negotiations between the EU and Norway that much more difficult.
“I share the concern and anger of North Sea fishermen that Marine Scotland has recently announced a raft of Real Time Closures in the North Sea at a time when around half of the North Sea, the Norwegian sector, is closed to our fishermen.
“I will continue to press Ministers and the EU to take the strongest possible action against Iceland and Faroes. In the meantime, I would repeat my call for Scottish consumers to ask for Scottish or EU-caught mackerel and mackerel products, as we can have full confidence these are fished for in a sustainable and responsible way”.