This arrangement, which established the quota sharing for 2015, follows up on the five-year arrangement between the Parties for mackerel for the period 2014 to 2018 reached in London on 12 March. It was unfortunate that during 2014, ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) had been unable to deliver their advice on the basis of which the Parties could have developed a revised management plan as foreseen in the five-year arrangement. However, the Parties did agree in the absence of this advice to base the TAC (Total Allowable Catch) for 2015 on the precautionary reference points established at the last benchmarking exercise on the stock in February 2014. The Parties will therefore recommend the adoption of a total catch limitation of 1,054,000 tonnes for the mackerel fishery in 2015 in the North-East Atlantic, noting that ICES confirms this TAC level as both sustainable and precautionary.

In line with the five-year arrangement, the Parties also set aside a Coastal State and NEAFC (North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission) reserve equivalent to 15.6% of the TAC to provide for new adherents to the Arrangement, such as, Iceland.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella said “I very much welcome this  agreement on mackerel for 2015. It builds on the framework established last March. The proper management of mackerel resources is vital for our coastal communities, and for our fishing and processing industries in particular. It is our joint responsibility to manage this resource in a sustainable manner. We look forward to the early establishment of a long-term management strategy in line with the ICES advice.”

Mackerel TACs and quotas for 2015

In accordance with the 2014 Mackerel Arrangement, the Delegations agreed to the following arrangement on the quota shares for 2015:

Tonnes
European Union:                 519,512
Faroe Islands:                     132,814
Norway:                              237,250
15.6% reserve:                   164,424
TOTAL                              1,054,000