A school of mackerel.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
The European Union has expressed strong concern after most members of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) rejected its call to set mackerel catch limits in line with scientific advice.
According to the EU, the decision risks worsening the condition of one of the region’s most valuable fish stocks, which the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has already assessed as being below minimum sustainability levels. In October, ICES advised catches of mackerel should be reduced by 77% compared to the previous year if the species is to recover, meaning a total catch limit of no more than 174,357 tonnes.
The annual NEAFC meeting, held in London from 11 to 14 November, also closed without agreement on how to share the blue whiting fishery. The EU had advocated following ICES recommendations for this stock as well, which is considered severely overfished.
EU officials stated that the lack of support for a ban on transhipment at sea further undermines efforts to curb illegal and unregulated fishing. Transhipment is already prohibited in most members’ territorial waters, including those of the EU and the United Kingdom. The EU argues that resistance to deploying inspection tools to monitor the practice increases the risk of further deterioration in the region’s fisheries.
The Commission said it regretted that contracting parties could not reach a collective commitment to manage stocks in line with scientific evidence and address overfishing and illegal activity. It added that it would "continue to reach out to partners with a view to ensuring a common approach on ensuring the sustainability of crucial common stocks."
In a press statement issued following the meeting, the NEAFC said that "agreements for the pelagic stocks were not comprehensive, given allocations of the Total Allowable Catch to each Contracting Party had not been set out for 2026 and agreements on blue whiting and mackerel are delayed for further consultations between coastal states."
coastal states
The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA), which represents more than 50 retailers, suppliers and food service companies, raised alarm in October following ICES data showing that North East Atlantic mackerel has fallen to its lowest stock level in more than two decades.
NAPA called for international quota-sharing agreements to protect the stock.
"As the voice of the marketplace, NAPA has been calling for action to address this issue for five years. In that time, excess catches have totalled over 1 million tonnes above scientific advice. It has proven inevitable that there would be stark consequences not only for the species, but for all who depend on it for their livelihoods,” NAPA independent chair, Aoife Martin, said at the time.
NAPA is currently leading a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) aimed at encouraging coastal states to reach a long-term sharing arrangement. The group says such a deal would be a step toward regaining the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification that was withdrawn from the mackerel fishery in 2019.
NEAFC includes six contracting parties: the EU, Denmark on behalf of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom, as well as several cooperating non-contracting parties including Canada. The organisation is responsible for long-term conservation of fish stocks in the North-East Atlantic and plays a central role in setting management and control measures.
Mackerel continues to be a very valuable fishery for the NEAFC states. For example, UK seafood trade body Seafish reports that in 2024, mackerel was the UK's second most valuable seafood export after salmon, worth £163 million (an increase of 26% year-on-year). It was also the species with the second highest volume of exports, at 84,270 tonnes, an increase of 10% compared with 2023.
In Norway, mackerel plays a similar role in the country's seafood exports, even overtaking salmon in terms of export value in September, according to figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council. In that month alone, Norway exported 52,100 tonnes of mackerel worth NOK 2.2 billion, a value increase of 32% year-on-year, although volume fell by 18%, the NSC reported.
By the end of September, the Norwegian fleet had already caught almost 90% of this year's quota of 152,000 tonnes, meaning that a sharp decline in exports was seen in October.
"We're in a period where demand far exceeds supply, and with the expectation that it will get even worse. There are warning signals coming all the way from the industry in Norway to customers out in the markets. Many people are wondering how this will affect the market when fish purchased from fishermen for around NOK 50 reaches consumers," said Jan Eirik Johnsen, head of pelagic fish at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Regardless of the outcome of the negotiations, Johnsen warned that "the industry both at home and abroad is facing a tough period with low mackerel volumes and a price level that was unimaginable only a short time ago."