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A meeting at the European Commission today has begun the process of applying sanctions to Iceland, following the commitment made in December by Commissioner Maria Damanaki to address continued overfishing of the shared mackerel fishery.

Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said:

"I'm pleased that the European Commission has today signalled its intent to take forward swift action against Iceland if required. We must not forget Faroe Islands Faroes and I urge the Commissioner to bring also forward proposals that would allow similar provisions to be put in place for the Faroes.

"However, Scotland's overarching priority remains the agreement of a new four-party deal to safeguard the future of the mackerel stock. Therefore, I welcome Iceland's indication that they are willing to resume talks and hope that they will come back to the table as a matter of urgency.

"We will continue to work closely with the EU to explore every avenue that could lead to further talks and a new international mackerel agreement. However, we can not give in to unreasonable demands or reward irresponsible behaviour and that is why it is important we have the mechanisms in place to allow sanctions if parties continue to behave unreasonably."

The value of mackerel to the Scottish economy was £135 million in 2009 - the fleet's most valuable stock - and directly supports around 2,500 jobs.

Mackerel talks

14/01/2011 01:48:43

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