Mackerel is an iconic North East Atlantic species. Alongside its important role as a prey species, it’s a firm favourite of seafood consumers all over the world. It is fished by numerous countries, especially Norway, the UK, the EU, Iceland, Russia, and the Faroe Islands.
Despite its immense value – with exports worth millions of Euros – mismanagement of the fishery has resulted in catches exceeding scientific advice since 2001. The stock has been showing signs of decline since 2015, while average catches since then have been 35% higher than recommended. The maths doesn’t add up. If catches are not reduced, there is a serious risk to the future viability of the mackerel stock – with consequences for all who depend on it.
North East Atlantic mackerel was Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified until 2019, when concerns about both the stock and management led to suspension. With no coherent management plan, and only partial agreements between some countries, there is insufficient governance in place to prevent the overexploitation of this vital stock. A comprehensive quota sharing approach is needed that ensures all countries limit their fishing effort to stay within scientific limits.
NAPA is calling for Coastal States to do the mackerel maths: to work together to stop combined catches from exceeding scientific limits.
In 2021, following the suspension of MSC certification for mackerel, we developed our North East Atlantic mackerel and Atlanto-Scandian herring Fishery Improvement Project to drive change and advocate for progress towards a long-term, six-party sharing agreement that will safeguard the future of the stock.
Although the concept of compromise and sharing is simple, we know the pathway to all Coastal States reaching an agreement is challenging. There are some key steps that can pave the way.
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