EU closes ports to Iceland's mackerel

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union on Friday said it would block Iceland's fishing boats from unloading mackerel until a dispute over quotas is resolved, but Reykjavik insisted the measure would have no impact.

Iceland and the EU have been locked in a "mackerel war" since the Nordic nation raised its mackerel catch quota to levels unacceptable to the 27-nation bloc as well as other partners, including Norway.

A statement from the EU chair of the European Economic Area -- which includes the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein -- said it called a special meeting Friday to inform partners of potential EU measures "to prohibit the landing of Icelandic mackerel in EU ports."

"We will implement these measures without delay," the statement said.

The EEA agreement enables parties to refuse landings of fish when there is "serious disagreement".

The Icelandic government swiftly dismissed the move.

"This does not come as much of a surprise to us, nor will it affect Iceland in any way," Icelandic fisheries ministry spokesman Bjarni Hardarson told AFP.

"Mackerel has always been unloaded in Iceland and the plan has never been to unload it anywhere else in Europe, as we work it from here," he added.

Hardarson said that Icelandic law already blocks foreign ships from unloading mackerel at the island nation's ports.

This kind of legislation is the norm, he said, adding "every nation unloads at their own docks in accordance with EU and Norwegian laws."

Hardarson said Iceland wanted to reach an agreement with the EU to end the dispute, after talks failed last year.

"Iceland has always been ready to sit down at the negotiating table," he said.

Iceland, which has applied to join the EU, raised its mackerel quota to 130,000 tonnes in 2010, compared to 2,000 tonnes in previous years, and announced it would raise it again to 146,000 tonnes in 2011.

Iceland condemned a decision by the EU and Norway to give themselves a quota of nearly 584,000 tonnes for 2011 in the absence of an agreement.

Iceland's negotiator, Tomas Heidar, warned that this represented more than 90 percent of the allowable catch recommended by scientists.

"If the EU and Norway do not reconsider their decision, they will bear the responsibility of overfishing from the stock next year," he said.

The EU and Norway on the other hand say Icelandic fishermen have allowed catches "at too high levels".

Reykjavik has, along with the semi-autonomous Danish territory of the Faroe Islands which also tripled its quota to 85,000 tonnes, argued that global warming is pushing more mackerel further north into their waters.

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