Herring dispute between European Union and Faroe Islands nears end
12 Jun 2014 02:52 PM
The European Commission and the
Faroe Islands have reached a political understanding to end their dispute on
the management of Atlanto-Scandian herring in the North-East Atlantic. This has
been done between European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries,
Maria Damanaki, and the Minister of Fisheries of the Faroe Islands, Jacob
Vestergaard, after a lengthy dialogue between Faroese and EU officials in
recent months.
As part of the understanding,
the Faroe Islands agreed to put an end to their unsustainable herring fishing
whilst the Commission would submit a draft regulation repealing the trade and
access to EU port restrictions that were adopted against the Faroe Islands in
August 2013. The regulation will be examined by EU Member States before it can
be adopted.
Both sides have also reached an
understanding on the termination of proceedings initiated by the Faroe Islands,
as a response to EU measures, at the World Trade Organization and in the
context of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
EU Commissioner for Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, stated: "After long and
intensive negotiations, I am satisfied that we can soon consider the herring
dispute as something of the past: Faroese fishermen will be able to come back
to EU waters and European fishermen can continue their traditional fisheries in
Faroese waters. Let’s now focus on working hand in hand towards
sustainable fisheries in the North-East Atlantic."
Context
The EU's relations with the
autonomous Danish territory has been suffering from differing points of view on
the management of the stocks of mackerel and herring in northern Atlantic
waters in the past years.
Following the unilateral
increases in mackerel catch by the Faroe Islands in 2010, the normal bilateral
exchanges of fishing rights had been interrupted, which made fishermen from
both parties unable to fish in their traditional fishing grounds in each
other's fishing zone.
As a consequence of the
disproportionate catch limits unilaterally adopted by Faroe Islands for herring
in 2013 which put in danger the sustainability of the stocks, and in view of
the failure to achieve a negotiated solution, the Commission adopted a
prohibition to import in the EU herring and mackerel caught under the control
of the Faroe Islands in August 2013 (IP/13/785). Entry into EU ports of vessels engaged in fishing or
transporting such fish was also prohibited. In response to these measures, the
Faroese authorities initiated proceedings against the EU within the
dispute-settlement mechanisms of the World Trade Organization and the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The process of normalisation of
EU-Faroe Islands fishing relations started at the end of 2013 when the Faroe
Islands accepted to become part of the arrangement among coastal States on the
management of mackerel for 2014. This allowed an agreement on traditional
exchanges of fishing opportunities, including mutual access to each other's
fishing grounds.
The on-going understanding on
herring is expected to be the end of the disputes and the beginning of a better
collaboration between the two parties. The agreement reached at political level
is currently being implemented on both sides.
For further
information
Statement by Commissioner
Damanaki on the agreement reached on the “herring dispute” with the
Faroe Islands: STATEMENT/14/189 (video)