Faroe Islands Set Own Mackerel Quota

It is the third year that the Faroese government has set itself a quota outside an international agreement with the EU and Norway. Iceland is expected to follow suit, reports ShetlandNews.

The collapse of talks between the EU, Norway, Faroes and Iceland will now lead to catch quotas well above of what scientists regarded as sustainable.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended a total allowable catch (TAC) of 639,000 tonnes of mackerel for the northeast Atlantic.

EU and Norwegian fishermen leaders have already said that they seek their governments to set a quota near that level.

With the Faroese quota now set at almost 150,000 tonnes and the Icelandic expected to be set at 45,000 tonnes, the mackerel fishing fleets will be catching more than 800,000 tonnes of the valuable fish this year.

A Faroese government spokesman said that they had reduced their quota by 1.08 per cent, in line with ICES recommendations.