BRUSSELS, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Members of the European Parliament approved a measure Tuesday in Brussels that aims to settle issues regarding fishing in the North Atlantic.
The main aim of a convention on the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization is to improve the utilization and conservation of fishery resources, the European Parliament said.
A second measure is designed to monitor fishing vessels that are taking part in illegal or unregulated fishing in European waters.
European lawmakers have complained that Iceland and the autonomous Danish Faroe Islands are exploiting European accomplishments in the management of mackerel stocks.
The issue was raised first by the Scottish government, which in late September expressed outrage over decisions by the Faroe Islands and Iceland to set quotas for mackerel fishing that the Scottish government said exceeded the total allowable catch.
"This was the first time MEPs were able to make use of their new power, acquired under the Lisbon Treaty, to approve or reject an international fisheries agreement concluded by the EU," the parliament added in a statement.
