Photo: SPSG/FIS

New SPSG Briefing Document Underscores UK's Leadership in Sustainable Mackerel Fishing Amidst International Quota Dispute

UNITED KINGDOM
Thursday, June 19, 2025, 05:00 (GMT + 9)

From Unilateral Quotas to Comprehensive Agreements: The Battle for Mackerel's Future

The Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG) has released a new ‘Mackerel Briefing Document’ for stakeholders, shedding light on the protracted failure to achieve a comprehensive international agreement on North East Atlantic mackerel quota shares. The document also highlights crucial distinctions between the United Kingdom and other coastal states involved in the fishery.

The briefing outlines the UK's steadfast determination to resolve the ongoing mackerel quota impasse and details the extensive sustainability projects currently undertaken by the nation’s pelagic sector. These initiatives include the recent trilateral agreement between Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the UK, which has notably reduced fishing pressure and overall catches. Furthermore, the document emphasizes numerous industry-led efforts, such as industry-science data collection, aimed at enhancing knowledge of the mackerel stock to secure a sustainable future for the fishery.

Ian Gatt, chairman of SPSG, stated, “The current failure to reach a comprehensive international agreement on mackerel quota shares has gone on for too long and a fair and equitable solution to the current impasse must be found. This new document highlights the current state of play and how the UK pelagic sector is playing a leading role in ensuring a sustainable future for the mackerel fishery.”

A Decade of Unilateral Quotas and Disagreement

The current international dispute over North East Atlantic mackerel quotas stems from decisions initiated by Iceland in 2008, which unilaterally set quotas despite having no prior track record in the fishery. This was followed by the Faroe Islands withdrawing from an agreement with the EU and Norway in late 2009, leading both Iceland and the Faroe Islands to impose high unilateral quotas in subsequent years. Russia and Greenland later adopted similar practices, setting their own quotas outside of international agreements.

While a bilateral agreement between the EU and Norway provided some stability from 2010 to 2020 , and the three-party agreement with the Faroe Islands was re-established in 2014 , Iceland continued its high unilateral quotas. The UK's withdrawal from the EU in 2020 ended the existing agreement, leading to a new relationship with the EU where some mackerel quota was transferred to the UK during an adjustment period ending in 2026. However, Norway and the Faroe Islands, along with Iceland, Greenland, and Russia, continued to set high unilateral quotas.

The UK Government has actively led discussions to resolve this, securing quota arrangements with Norway in 2023 and with the Faroe Islands in 2024, which have significantly reduced fishing mortality and overall catches. Despite these successes, a comprehensive international agreement involving all participating nations remains elusive.

Photo: SPSG

UK's Distinct Approach to Mackerel Sustainability

The SPSG document highlights several key differentiators for the UK's approach to the mackerel fishery:

• No Unilateral Quotas: The UK has consistently maintained its traditional share of the catch based on historical participation and has never set a unilateral Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for mackerel, remaining committed to working with other coastal states for sustainable management.
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Fishing: All mackerel caught by the UK fleet occurs within the UK EEZ, not in international waters.
• Human Consumption Focus: All UK mackerel catches are destined for human consumption, contrasting with significant tonnages from some other nations that are processed into fishmeal, a practice deemed "completely unacceptable" for a fish of mackerel's value.
• Leading Resolution Efforts: The UK is at the forefront of attempts to resolve the international quota impasse, achieving some success through recent agreements that reduce fishing pressure.
• Opposition to Trans-shipping: The UK industry is against the trans-shipping of mackerel catches on the high seas due to a lack of adequate control measures.
• Support for Closed Areas: The UK industry advocates for maintaining closed areas to protect juvenile mackerel, a practice the UK has championed since the early 1980s.
• Legal Commitment to Sustainability: The UK Government is legally bound by the Fisheries Act 2020 to set quotas at sustainable levels, a commitment fully supported by the UK pelagic sector.

Furthermore, the UK pelagic sector fully supports and complies with the North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA)'s three key demands: limiting high-seas catches to 10% of the total, focusing on human consumption for whole mackerel, and capping banking and borrowing of quota at 10% of the annual total.

Extensive Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives

The UK mackerel and processing sectors, primarily based in Scotland, are actively participating in and spearheading a wide array of initiatives to enhance understanding of mackerel stocks and boost sustainability efforts. These include:

• Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG): Established in 2007 by catching and processing sectors, SPSG aimed to secure MSC eco-label for mackerel, which was achieved in 2016 but later suspended and withdrawn in 2019 due to the quota dispute. SPSG received the MSC UK Ocean Leadership award in 2022 for its industry-science data collection program.
• Scientific Leadership: The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association employs its own Chief Scientific Officer to lead science initiatives. The pelagic sector was also instrumental in creating the Scottish Pelagic Industry-Science Data Collection Programme, now a main source of biological data for ICES stock assessment.
• Mackerel Egg Surveys: The UK pelagic sector participates in triennial mackerel egg surveys to estimate spawning stock biomass.
• Tagging and Monitoring: Large-scale UK processing factories are equipped with RFID mackerel tag detectors , and the UK participates in the MAKTAG survey, tagging mackerel at sea to gather data on stock dynamics and mortality.
• Bycatch Mitigation: The UK pelagic sector is involved in the EU Life project CIBBRINA on bycatch mitigation.
• Traceability and REM: A key participant in the 'Catch to Batch' pilot project, providing traceability from catch to distribution , the UK pelagic fleet will also be among the first to implement Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) on vessels to record all fishing activities.
• Marine Mammal Research: The UK pelagic fleet engages with the Sea Mammal Research Unit on Endangered, Threatened, and Protected (ETP) species observer work, including whales.

Photo: SPSG

The SPSG is advocating for a 10% cap on mackerel catches in international waters, fishing opportunity based on zonal attachment and ICES recommendations, the cessation of unilateral quotas, and continued sourcing of UK mackerel by seafood suppliers due to the UK fleet's responsible and sustainable practices.

Research has also shown that Scottish-caught mackerel is highly nutritious with an extremely low carbon footprint compared to most other protein sources , and the Scottish mackerel fishery is considered "clean," with virtually no by-catch of other species or undersized mackerel. The mid-water trawls and purse seine nets used do not touch the seabed

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