EU lifts measures against Faroe Islands over Herring fishery

The European Union (EU) on Monday repealed the measures against the Faroe Islands due to a catch-limit agreement.
According to a statement issued by the EU, the Faroe Islands would cease their unsustainable fishery and would adopt a catch limit for herring in 2014 at 40,000 tons.
This level is considerably lower than the one the Faroes had adopted in 2013 and which, according to the current scientific assessments, does not put in jeopardy the conservation efforts of the coastal States sharing the stock.
The process of normalization of EU-Faroe Islands fishing relations started at the end of 2013 when the Faroe Islands accepted to become part of the arrangement among coastal states on the management of mackerel for 2014.
This allowed an agreement on traditional exchanges of fishing opportunities, including mutual access to each other's fishing grounds. The on-going understanding on herring is expected to be the end of the disputes and the beginning of a better collaboration between the two parties.