Breakdown in mackerel catch talks with Faroese

THE Scottish Government and fishing leaders reacted angrily to the breakdown of the latest round of talks to try to reach agreement with the Faroes on next year's mackerel catching arrangements.

The talks in Copenhagen were the final opportunity for the EU and Norway to forge an agree-ment for conserving mackerel stocks.

Their failure means that the Faroese will now join Iceland in setting their own unilateral quotas for 2011 in a move that could jeopardise the sustainability of the important mackerel stock in the north-east Atlantic.

After Iceland walked out of four-way talks last month, it had been hoped that the EU, Norway and the Faroes could have reached a trilateral agreement that would help safeguard the future of the shared mackerel fishery.

But two days of negotiations ended on Thursday night with the Faroese refusing to sign up to a three-way deal.

Richard Lochhead, the fisheries minister, said: "I am angry and extremely disappointed that these vital three-way talks in Copenhagen have broken down.

"Given this year's situation, where the Faroese and Iceland had set their own massive unilateral catch quotas outwith international agreements, we were all determined to find a way of resolving this intolerable situation for 2011."

Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association, called for the EC to take immediate sanctions against Iceland and the Faroes in the trade of pelagic fish.

He said: "We would all like more fish, but we need to abide by international agreements to ensure that the mackerel stock is harvested responsibly. We utterly condemn the unsustainable fishing practices that the Faroese and Icelanders are now about to embark upon."