No more talks between the EU, Norway, Faroe and Iceland are scheduled until October leaving the pelagic sector facing its “biggest crisis for many, many years”, said Ian Gatt, secretary of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA).
At the heart of the problem is a unilateral declaration by Iceland that it will take 130,000 metric tons of mackerel, in defiance of the coastal states’ agreement between the EU, Norway and Faroe and scientific advice.
The Faroe Islands has also said that it will take a similar amount if Iceland goes ahead -- and both countries are now also demanding access to EU waters to catch mackerel as well as extra fish.
The
