The Ministry said that it was disappointed that talks had taken a step backwards.
Since it did not seem possible to reach an agreement on the future management of mackerel fisheries, Iceland proposed an interim arrangement in order to ensure conservation of the stock.
According to the arrangement, the parties would respect the total allowable catch recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for 2012, 639,000 tonnes, and keep their current percentage shares in the fishery.
The other parties were not willing to accept the proposal.
In light of the aforementioned, Iceland will have an unchanged share in the mackerel fisheries in 2012, around 16 per cent, but Iceland´s quota will take into account a small reduction in the total allowable catch recommended by ICES.
Iceland encourages the other coastal States to take this into account in their quota decisions for 2012. The quotas determined by the EU and Norway for 2011 amounted to more than 90 per cent of the recommended total allowable catch. Thereby, these parties disregarded the legitimate interests of the other coastal States, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and those of Russia.
The quota decision of the EU and Norway was in fact a prescription of overfishing from the mackerel stock and the Icelandic authorities strongly criticised it. It is hoped that this will not be repeated.
The Icelandic authorities continue to place emphasis on the need to reach an agreement on the management of mackerel fisheries in order to ensure sustainable fisheries and prevent further overfishing from the stock.
Iceland is therefore committed to continue contributing to reaching an agreement in cooperation with the other coastal States. The aforementioned decision is subject to review, should an agreement be reached between the parties.
The Ministry also mentioned that no decision has been made to hold another meeting in the New Year.
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