A meeting of pelagic fisheries representatives from EU, Faroe islands, Iceland, Norway and the UK was held on 16 September to discuss ways of improving the management of mackerel, blue whiting, and Atlanto-Scandian/Norwegian Spring Spawning herring.

The group, which was established earlier this year, following industry participation as part of King Charles' Oceans Sustainability Initiative, held wide-ranging talks on the current fisheries management landscape for these three species, including a discussion on scientific surveys and the importance of fishing industry data feeding into stock assessments.  It also discussed the importance of encouraging national governments to take swifter action in pursuing the implementation of sustainable management plans for stocks.

Ian Gatt, CEO of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, and group spokesperson, 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 will meet again in October to continue discussions.