North-East Atlantic fisheries sway over serious disagreements on sustainable fishing despite alarming scientific advice

The EU is deeply concerned that most North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) members opposed the EU proposal to set the mackerel total allowable catch (TAC) in line with the scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). This will lead to severe overfishing of mackerel, the most important Northeast Atlantic stock, which is already below the minimum sustainability level advised by ICES.

The annual meeting also ended without an agreement on a sharing arrangement for blue whiting, despite the EU proposal to follow the scientific advice for this stock, which is already severely overfished.

In addition, the absence of support to ban transhipment, despite the fact that such activity is forbidden in most of the members' national waters, including in the EU and UK waters, undermines gravely the fight against illegal and unregulated fishing and the sustainability of North-East Atlantic fish stocks. A predominant resistance to the deployment of inspection means to control this practice risks deteriorating further the situation in the area.

The EU regrets that it was not possible to garner a collective commitment among the contracting parties to manage fish stocks based on science, to stop overfishing and tackle illegal and unregulated fishing.

The EU will continue to reach out to partners with a view to ensuring a common approach on ensuring the sustainability of crucial common stocks.

Background

The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) is a regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO) responsible for ensuring the long-term conservation of fishery resources in the North-East Atlantic. The organisation works to adopt management measures for various fish stocks and control measures to prevent overfishing and protect the marine ecosystem.

NEAFC has six contracting parties (the European Union, Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom) and cooperating non-contracting parties.

The 44th Annual Meeting of the NEAFC took place from 11 to 14 November 2025 in London, UK. The EU tabled proposals to manage the most important fish stocks in the North-East Atlantic sustainably and to avoid the collapse of iconic stocks that are heavily overfished, especially mackerel.

The EU, represented by the Commission, plays an active role in 18 RFMOs, including NEAFC. This makes the EU one of the most prominent actors in RFMOs worldwide.

More information

North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission | Managing Fisheries in the North-East Atlantic

Regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs)