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EU agrees on shared fisheries management of key stocks in 2024

Responsible Seafood Advocate

All three stocks have a total allowable catch for 2024 aligned with scientific advice

fisheries management
The EU reached an agreement with northeast Atlantic coastal states, the UK and Norway on the shared fisheries management of key stocks in 2024.

The delegations of the European Union, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Norway and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement on the fishery management measures for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring in the North-East Atlantic for 2024. All three stocks have a total allowable catch (TAC) for 2024 set at the recommended scientific advice provided by the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

For mackerel, the coastal states agreed to set the TAC for 2024 at 739,386 tons. This TAC is in line with ICES advice, following the maximum sustainable yield approach and is 5 percent lower than the TAC agreed for 2023.

In addition, the delegations also recalled their work on developing a new long-term management strategy (LTMS) for the mackerel stock and recognized the importance of concluding a sharing arrangement. They agreed to wait for the outcome of the upcoming ICES benchmark exercise on the stock before deciding on the LTMS. Parties also discussed the need for exercising restraint in transferring the unutilized quantities of their quota between years.

For blue whiting, the EU, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and the UK agreed to set the TAC for 2024 at 1,529,754 tons. This TAC aligns with the ICES advice, following the LTMS approach. It corresponds to an increase of 12.5 percent compared to the TAC set for 2023.

For the Atlanto-Scandian herring, the TAC for 2024 was agreed at 390,010 tons, a decrease of 24 percent compared to the TAC set for 2023. The agreed TAC level is also in line with the ICES advice, following the LTMS approach. During this year’s annual consultations, the European Union also made a claim to being acknowledged as a coastal state of this stock, based on scientific evidence of the occurrence of this stock in EU waters.

Frustrated aquafeed companies decry stagnant Northeast Atlantic blue whiting quota negotiations

The delegations also agreed to address the issue of quota-sharing arrangements for all three stocks as soon as possible, and no later than in early 2024.

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