Scottish pelagic fishermen have given a cautious welcome to a suite of agreements reached between the UK, Norway and Faroe on the Northeast Atlantic mackerel fishery waters.
The deal will cover the coming three years, with an option to extend it thereafter.
The new agreements, which cover quota shares, quota transfers and access arrangements, were hard won, with all sides making uncomfortable compromises.
Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA), said: “The primary objective of these deals is to reduce pressure on the mackerel stock by cutting fishing mortality significantly.
“It was not easy, given that while they cut down Norway’s and Faroe’s share of the total allowable catch for this stock, with an increase in the UK’s share, they grant Norwegian and Faroese vessels access to UK waters to fish part of their quotas.
“In this sense, the agreements go further than the industry in an ideal world would have liked, but it was the responsible thing to do. This provides the foundation building blocks to create a comprehensive coastal states agreement in the future.”
Simon Collins, executive officer of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA), added: “Mixed though the package inevitably is, with clear positives alongside concessions on access to our waters, there can be no question that the UK would have never been able to strengthen its improved position in this fishery had it still been in the EU.
“It is now critical that we monitor access conditions carefully while encouraging the remaining coastal states – the EU, Iceland and Greenland – into a comprehensive arrangement that fully safeguards the future of this important stock.
“The industry also hopes to see progress on sharing arrangements for the other key pelagic stocks – Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting.”