Against the advice of scientists, Europe increases its mackerel fishing quotas

The European Union has revised upwards its mackerel fishing quotas in 2026 in the North Atlantic on Monday, March 30. (Photograph).

Back in time. The European Union has revised upwards its mackerel fishing quotas in 2026 in the North Atlantic on Monday, March 30, against the advice of researchers who warn of the risks to the species victim of overfishing.

In December, the EU countries had followed the scientific recommendation, with a 70% decrease in catches in 2026 compared to 2025.

On Monday, they finally decided to stick to a reduction of only 48%, in response to the concerns of European fishers and to align with neighboring countries: the United Kingdom, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.

Migration due to global warming

Fleeing global warming and overheated oceans, Atlantic mackerel has migrated north in recent years, ending up trapped in overfishing, in a context of geopolitical disagreements. The species has thus fallen into a danger zone, around Iceland and Norway, where its reproduction is no longer assured.

The European Union accuses the United Kingdom, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland of overexploiting the resource.

Failing to reach an agreement with them on a drastic reduction in fishing, European countries have aligned with their alternative scenario: a 48% reduction in catches.

The European Union also responds to the alerts from French fishers who demanded to “harmonize the reduction effort with that of Nordic countries” and to “limit the severity of the quota reduction.”

Twice the recommended catches by scientists

For 2026, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is authoritative, recommended dividing mackerel fishing in the North Atlantic by four to reach around 174,000 tonnes in 2026, for EU and non-EU countries. The aim: to avoid a collapse of the species. The 48% reduction enacted on Monday corresponds to around 299,000 tonnes of catches, nearly double.

France did not oppose this upward revision of quotas. However, in the longer term, the French Minister of Fisheries Catherine Chabaud demanded that the European Union “sit around the table to negotiate a multilateral agreement” with neighboring countries on mackerel, to “avoid overfishing” as it is “urgent not to put too much pressure on the resource.”

Fisheries are one of the most contentious points in discussions between Brussels and Iceland, which could resume its accession negotiations to the European Union if the “yes” vote prevails in a referendum at the end of August in the country.