Ian Gatt CBE, the chair of the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG), was invited to Buckingham Palace, along with other key players in North East Atlantic pelagic fisheries, to meet His Majesty King Charles III to discuss the challenges facing these fisheries, most notably the current impasse over quota sharing arrangements for mackerel and ways of finding a resolution.

As well as SPSG, participants from the EU, Iceland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands were present at the three-day session, which came under the umbrella of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s (SMI)  Ocean Stewardship Initiative that focuses on ocean governance and conservation. The Sustainable Markets Initiative was founded by His Majesty the King in 2020.

The King, and therefore the SMI, was keen to know whether there were elements of the management progress made in the Antarctic krill fishery that could be transferable to the pelagic fisheries in the North East Atlantic, and this formed part of the discussions.

Ian Gatt said: “It proved a very useful event that has resulted in future meetings being set up among stakeholders. SPSG would like to thank His Majesty King Charles III for his interest in North East Atlantic pelagic fisheries and for instigating this discussion forum.”