The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group, also known as NAPA, is a market-led approach to improve North Atlantic pelagic fisheries management.
NAPA was formed in response to the continuing dispute between Coastal States over mackerel quota allocation in the North East Atlantic. Over time, this dispute has resulted in annual catches well in excess of the advised level for three commercially important species: North East Atlantic mackerel (hereafter mackerel), Atlanto-Scandian (Norwegian Spring Spawning) herring (hereafter herring), and North East Atlantic blue whiting (hereafter blue whiting).
As a consequence of this overfishing, and the absence of a long-term management strategy, fisheries in each stock lost their Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certifications, no longer boasting the recognisable and trusted blue tick that consumers have become familiar with. This overfishing threatens the long term health of the stocks and the businesses that rely on them.
NAPA aims to drive sustainability in these fisheries by calling for urgent action in every possible way to drive progress towards achieving our vision of sustainable fishing for generations to come. Long-term, science-based management of NE Atlantic stocks is the only way to ensure prospering oceans and fisheries, and business security for the future.. These stocks are data-rich and we have all the information needed to manage them sustainably. Coastal States simply need to collaborate better, follow the science and act – as soon as possible.
The group is tackling these issues through two Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) – one for mackerel and herring, and one for blue whiting. The FIPs serve to drive political will for sustainable management while holding key actors and decision-makers to account.
NAPA’s partners are a collective of more than 50 global retailers, food service companies, and suppliers, representing the majority of mackerel, herring, and blue whiting purchasing power in the North East Atlantic.
Our partners have the shared aim of sourcing sustainable and certified seafood to supply a growing demand for traceable, ecolabelled fish products. They have joined forces, using their collective commercial leverage, to drive sustainability into pelagic fisheries management in the North East Atlantic.
United by a common goal to secure robustly managed pelagic stocks, NAPA partners stand firmly together as the unified, unrelenting, global voice of the marketplace.
We exist to foster sustainable fishing of pelagics in the NE Atlantic in ways that provide business security.
Through long-term, science-based sharing agreements for mackerel, herring and blue whiting – agreements that are resilient in the face of change, with dispute resolution mechanisms that actually work – we strive to build a new era of cooperation for Coastal States.
With a secure supply of fish stocks remaining healthy into the future, retailers will be able to confidently source ethical and sustainable pelagic seafood from North East Atlantic fisheries