Coastal states have sealed the deal on total agreeable catch for north east Atlantic mackerel.
The group – comprising the UK, EU, Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Faroe Islands – agreed to set it in line with advice published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
Earlier this month, ICES recommended the catch limit for north-east Atlantic mackerel for 2027 should be 352,938 tonnes – a 102% increase on the 2026 advice.
Meanwhile, the catch advice was set at 1.1 million tonnes for Atlantic-Scandian herring and 588,004 tonnes for blue whiting, increases of 10% and 25% respectively.
The states agreed to these limits across all three species in the latest talks.
It comes as a growing number of retailers and suppliers have stopped or suspended their sourcing of north east Atlantic mackerel following years of overfishing and failure among coastal states to set quotas in line with ICES advice.
Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association chief executive Ian Gatt said he was “delighted” at the agreements, which showed “great progress” compared with last year.
“We are also pleased that the science has recognised that there has been improvements in the stocks for all three species, which bodes well for the future,” he added.
Despite this, Gatt warned there was still the “major issue” of deciding quota shares of mackerel between the states, which will be discussed in early December.
While this has caused challenges in the past, Gatt said there “seems to be a more positive atmosphere and a clear willingness among coastal states to reach an agreement”.
According to the SPFA, this was illustrated by the third meeting of the newly formed North East Atlantic Pelagic Industry Group, which includes pelagic fisheries representatives from the EU, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and the UK.
The Grocer understands that the amount of fish caught could breach the TAC, and with it ICES advice, if coastal states do not reach agreement on shares – which happened this year.
Further, Russia was absent from negotiations. This summer, coastal states took action against the state, in order to restrict its mackerel fishing in international waters, after it unilaterally decided to raise its quota to 67,548 tonnes.
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