‘Cut mackerel fishing by 70% to help stocks’

SCIENTISTS say the fishing of mackerel should be cut by more than 70% next year in the northeast Atlantic to help prevent the collapse of fish stocks.

- 

‘The latest advice from the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (Ices) recommends a catch limit of 174,357 tonnes be set in 2026 for all mackerel stocks in the region and its adjacent waters.

‘This compares to the 755,143 tonnes that Ices estimates will be caught by the end of 2025.

Ices gives advice on maximum catches that would allow stocks to continue to be fished sustainably.

But catch limits agreed annually between the EU and coastal countries in the region, including the UK and Norway, have consistently exceeded levels recommended by scientist.

Since 2010, mackerel quotas have been set an average 39% higher than those given in the scientific advice.