North-East Atlantic Pelagic Group meets to push for better stock management
Fishing industry representatives from the EU, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and the UK met on 16 September to talk about improving how mackerel, blue whiting, and Atlanto-Scandian/Norwegian Spring Spawning herring are managed.
The North-East Atlantic Pelagic Group was set up earlier this year after industry took part in King Charles’ Oceans Sustainability Initiative. At the meeting, members discussed the current state of management for the three stocks, including the role of scientific surveys and the need for industry data to feed into stock assessments. They also talked about pushing national governments to move faster on putting sustainable management plans in place.
Ian Gatt – NE Atlantic Pelagic Group spokespersonIan Gatt, CEO of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association and spokesperson for the group, said: “The creation of this group increases collaboration among the key pelagic industry stakeholders in these fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic and provides a platform for discussing how to improve the long-term management to ensure a sustainable future for these key stocks and the fishing communities that depend on them.”
The group is due to meet again in October.
