Scottish fishing heads have said that talks between Iceland, Norway the Faroe Islands and several other nations have left much to be desired.
The talks, which come amid rising tensions between fishing nations as Iceland and the Faroes continue to take larger amounts of mackerel each year, were also attended by EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. However, negotiations ended last week with no agreement.
Officials from the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s’ Association (SPFA) told BBC reporters that northern European nations must now implement sanctions against the two North Atlantic island nations.
Scotland and Ireland remain the largest critics of Iceland and the Faroes, but they have received support from several EU neighbours.
Ian Gatt, chief executive of the SPFA, said, “If it is not possible to reach agreement at this high level, then one has to question whether there is any hope at all for the next round of talks scheduled for October. This makes it even more important than ever that the European Parliament ratifies sanction measures against Iceland and the Faroes this month, and that the EU wastes no time in immediately implementing them,” the BBC reports.
Reykjavik and Faroe officials have yet to comment on the end of negotiations.