NAPA's "Mackerel Maths" campaign urges catch agreement by Atlantic coastal states

The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA) has launched a new campaign film urging coastal states to address the long-standing issue of mackerel overfishing in the North East Atlantic.

The initiative, unveiled on 29 April, features schoolchildren participating in a mock fishery exercise to highlight the importance of collaboration and compromise in managing shared fish stocks.

The film, shot at a London school, will be presented at the fothcoming Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona. The film draws attention to what NAPA describes as a political "stalemate" among coastal states.

According to NAPA, countries such as Norway, the EU, UK, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland have exceeded scientific catch recommendations for mackerel by an average of 40% annually over the past 15 years. The group warns that ongoing overfishing, combined with a decline in mackerel stocks since 2015, could have long-term consequences for both the environment and seafood supply chains.

“This film points to a serious, collective failure of governments,” said Chris Shearlock, Ambient Sustainability Director at Thai Union and Chair of NAPA’s Mackerel Subgroup. “Mackerel is the perfect example of a failure of leadership from our Coastal States’ governments – short-term thinking and disagreements blinding negotiators to a chance to secure generational sustainability for the stock.”

NAPA and its partners, including processors, retailers, and suppliers, are calling on these nations to "do the Mackerel Maths" by committing to a scientifically based, cooperative catch-sharing agreement. The group has developed ‘policy Fishery Improvement Projects’ (FIPs) to encourage progress and warns that companies may halt sourcing from affected stocks if no agreement is reached by April 2026.

“There is no time to lose,” commented Rob Blyth Skyrme, NAPA Project Lead. “Coastal States only have until April 2026 to come together to end the overfishing of mackerel. In 15 years, they have failed to do so, and the need for progress is now urgent. Long-term comprehensive sharing agreements are essential – but there are also short-term actions that everyone can take to protect the stock, such as limiting fishing in international waters."

"We are looking to all nations to be part of the solution and deliver meaningful improvements: there is no excuse for inaction. Collaborative, sensible, human – that’s all we’re asking the Coastal States to be,” Skyrme added.