European Union authorities in Brussels will formally announce to Icelandic authorities on Thursday that a landing ban will be imposed in EU member countries on mackerel caught by Icelandic fishing vessels if Iceland doesn’t change its mackerel fishing plans.
Herring, another fish that has caused disputes. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
This has been revealed to the news agency Reuters by a source in Brussels. According to the news agency, at a meeting of the European Economic Area (EEA) on Thursday EU officials will reveal their plans to refuse landings of mackerel.
The EU source said Iceland seemed unlikely to comply and that no date has been set for the mackerel landing ban.
After fruitless meetings with other mackerel fishing nations late last year, Icelandic fisheries authorities decided to issue a 147,000 unilateral mackerel quota, criticizing Norway and the EU for having claimed 90 percent of the total catch for 2011.
Click here to read more about Icelandic mackerel fishing.
