The first round of talks between the EU and Norway on North Sea shared stocks held in Bergen last week ended without agreement.
The talks lasted the whole week but once again the endless dispute over mackerel fishing threw a spanner in the works.
The talks were adjourned when Norway asked for a suspension as there were split views within the Norwegian camp which needed more time for discussion.
There is a only a very small gap between the coastal states on quota shares -- reportedly less than 1 percent -- but the stumbling block appears to be that Norway is insisting that Iceland should not have access to Faroese waters
The negotiations are complex and interlinked and this access dispute has a knock-on effect on the rest of the agreement on the other pelagic stocks and North Sea shared stocks as well as northeast Arctic cod.
