EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- All coastal states in the North Sea community must adhere to management plans to preserve fish stocks, the Scottish government said.
Edinburgh in late September expressed outrage over decisions by the autonomous Danish Faroe Islands and Iceland to set quotas for mackerel fishing that the Scottish government said exceeded the total allowable catch.
Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said despite action by the European community in 2005 to manage fishing of the blue whiting cod species, the move was too late and the stock eventually collapsed.
"With blue whiting opportunities set to decrease radically following poor management of the stock, resolution of the ongoing mackerel dispute with Iceland and the Faroes becomes ever more important," he said in a statement.
European lawmakers complained last week that Iceland and the Faroe Islands are exploiting European accomplishments in the management of mackerel stocks.
"It is of utmost importance, therefore, that all coastal states abide by the long-term management plan for the stock in 2011, which will be vital if we are to avoid a repeat of the Blue whiting fiasco," the Scottish secretary said.
