EU fishing chief Maria Damanaki told MEPs yesterday it was time to get rid of “Olympic-style” fisheries that are catching too much mackerel.
But after highlighting continued over-fishing of the north-east Atlantic mackerel stock, she said there were encouraging signs that Iceland and Faroe were finally moving towards a deal.
The two Nordic nations have repeatedly refused to sign up to internationally-agreed quota limits for the fish.
Their unwillingness to strike a deal is at the heart of the so-called mackerel war with countries including Scotland, Ireland and Norway whose pelagic fishermen believe their livelihoods are in jeopardy.
Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association chief executive Ian Gatt told the Press and Journal yesterday the stock was currently in a healthy state.
But he also said there was huge uncertainty over the prospects of the Scottish mackerel industry because of the failure of Iceland and Faroe to agree a fair deal on catch allocations.
He added: “It is desirable that an agreement is reached but not at any cost, and it certainly must not adversely affect the Scottish catching, processing and support sectors.”
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said: “An agreement delivering sustainable fishing for future years must be in everyone’s interests.
“We have always wanted to see a deal in place to protect the future of what is our most valuable stock.”
Addressing European Parliament fisheries committee members yesterday, Mrs Damanaki said: “We must get rid of the Olympic-style fisheries on this valuable stock. There is substantial overfishing now – it has to be substantially reduced.”
She added: “A window of opportunity has been opened with the latest Ices’ (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) scientific advice.
“In all scenarios we are studying, there will be increased fishing possibilities for our fishermen in the (European) union and in Norway.
“There is a real possibility for Iceland and the Faroes to reduce their previous unrealistic requests in terms of share of the stock they claim.
“Since the summer, we have been working hard to move towards a deal. We haven’t reached that stage yet but there are encouraging signs.
“What I can tell you is that we have reached an understanding with Iceland on a quota share and we are talking to the Faroe Islands.”
Ices has recommended a total allowable catch (TAC) of 889,000 tonnes for the stock in 2014, which would mean an increase of nearly 40% on the 542,000-tonne TAC in 2013.