Management of shared fish stocks: coastal state agreed records 2025

Mackerel

Agreed record of fisheries consultations between Greenland, the European Union, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom on the management of mackerel in the north-east Atlantic for 2025

21 - 22 October 2024

1. A delegation from Greenland headed by Iben Funch Døj, a delegation from the European Union headed by Eva María Carballeira Fernandez, a delegation from the Faroe Islands headed by Herluf Sigvaldsson, a delegation from Iceland headed by Gudmundur Thordarson, a delegation from Norway headed by Ann Kristin Westberg, and a delegation from the United Kingdom headed by Colin Faulkner met in London on 21-22 October 2024 to consult on the management of mackerel in the North-East Atlantic for 2025.

2. The delegations agreed that 576 958 tonnes should represent the level of catches for mackerel in the North-East Atlantic for 2025.

3. The delegations agreed that Parties will reconvene to address the issue of a quota-sharing arrangement as soon as possible, and no later than in December 2024.

4. The delegations recalled their work to date on developing a new long-term management strategy for the stock. They recognised the importance of concluding a sharing arrangement as well as of awaiting the outcome of the upcoming ICES benchmark exercise on the stock to begin 2025, before coming to a conclusion on that strategy.

5. The delegations agreed that, in anticipation of agreeing a new suite of management measures, they would each initially set quotas for 2025 at levels which would contribute to a conducive environment for the conclusion of their consultations. They further agreed that delegations will inform each other of the quotas they have set ahead of resuming those consultations. In this regard, the Parties continued discussions on appropriate banking and borrowing regimes and discussed the need for exercising due restraint when it comes to transfers of unutilised quantities of their quota between years.

6. The delegations encouraged the Parties to develop and coordinate their scientific research activities in order to improve the information available for the assessment and the management of this stock.

7. The delegations encouraged the Parties to strengthen monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) at sea and in port, and to continue the cooperation to further strengthen MCS.

8.The delegations welcomed the outcomes of the Report of the 2024 Coastal States Working Group on the distribution of mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic, October 2024 and agreed to update this report in a timely manner, chaired by the European Union and Iceland.

9.The delegations exchanged final quota and catch information for 2023 as well as preliminary information for 2024. This information is provided in Annex I of this Agreed Record.

10. The delegations agreed to continue to provide quota and catch information in the same format as set out in Annex I of this Agreed Record.  They also agreed to exchange information from 2024 and onwards regarding their fishing activities including exchanges and access provisions as outlined in Annex II of this Agreed Record.

11.The delegations agreed to continue to provide information in the same format as set out in Annex I and Annex II to this Agreed Record. Each Party shall, by 1 May 2025, provide updated information in this regard to the chair of the consultations from April 2025 to March 2026, the European Union, who shall forward this information within 10 working days to all Parties to this Agreed Record.

Gudmundur Thordarson
For the Delegation of Iceland  

Eva-María Carballeira-Fernandez
For the Delegation of the European Union

Herluf Sigvaldsson
For the Delegation of the Faroe Islands 

Iben Funch Døj
For the Delegation of Greenland

Ann Kristin Westberg
For the Delegation of the Norway     

Colin Faulkner
For the Delegation of the United Kingdom

Annex 1

This annex includes a table showing quotas and catches of mackerel in the North-East Atlantic from 2022 to 2024. The table can be viewed in the attached PDF.

Annex 2

This annex includes tables showing transfers and access arrangements for mackerel in 2023. The table can be viewed in the attached PDF.