Ichthyologists from the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway have concluded after a joint expedition earlier this summer that there are 8.8 million tons of mackerel in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, which is a new record. The biomass measured 5.1 million tons in 2012.
Archive photo: Bjarni Brynjólfsson/Iceland Review.
More than 17 percent thereof, or 1.5 million tons, can be found in Icelandic waters, which is a similar amount as last year, Fréttablaðið reports.
A statement from the Icelandic Marine Research Institute points out that the research area was more extensive than in past years, which may to some extent explain the overall increase in mackerel (click here to read a summary of the report in English).
The dispute between Iceland and the European Union on mackerel fishing is ongoing.
Related:
27.08.2013 | Iceland Rejects Request from EU-Country Ship to Land Mackerel
19.08.2013 | Icelandic Government Release Statement on “EU Threats”
ESA
