“We were pleased to welcome EU Commissioner Maria Damanaki to Iceland last week to discuss the ongoing debate over mackerel fishing rights in the North Atlantic. At the meeting Iceland expressed its sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible in order to find a fair solution to this dispute ...

The management strategy for Iceland haddock is to maintain the exploitation rate at the rate which is consistent with the precautionary approach and that generates maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in the long term.

The management strategy for Iceland saithe is to maintain the exploitation rate at the rate which is consistent with the precautionary approach and that generates maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in the long term.

The following statement has been issued by Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, Minister of Industries and Innovation, Government of Iceland, in response to the Marine Conservation Society's decision to re-list Icelandic mackerel as a ‘fish to avoid'. The Marine Conservation Society's decision unfortunately does not factor in Iceland's continual requests for collaboration with other Coastal States (the EU, including Scotland, as well as Norway and the Faroe Islands) to set sustainable catch levels or its own 15 percent reduction in its 2013 mackerel catch.

With the European Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels today to discuss mackerel catch levels, Iceland continues to ask the Coastal States to return to the negotiating table to reach a fair solution to this dispute. Mackerel is a precious resource for Iceland and our fellow Coastal States, including the European Union, Norway and the Faroe Islands. We must work together to protect the mackerel stock through sustainable fishing levels based on collaborative scientific research.

Deadline for application is 15 May 2013.

The Icelandic Ministry of Industries and Innovation today announced the country's 2013 fishing quota for mackerel, lowering the catch to 123,182 tons. This represents a 15 percent cut from the 2012 quota, in alignment with scientific recommendations from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), an international non-governmental organisation that promotes scientific research on the marine environment.

In an article in in Wall Street Journal Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, Minister of Industries and Innovation says that we need a science-based solution that ensures a fair share for all and safeguards all parties' environmental and economic interests.

Great interest in an electricity interconnection between Iceland and the Faroe Islands

The meeting between the Coastal States of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands and the EU in London on the management of mackerel fisheries was inconclusive. The Icelandic delegation was lead by chief negotiator Sigurgeir Þorgeirsson and the round of talks took place on 22-24 October 2012.

The Minister of Industries and Innovation, mr Steingrímur J. Sigfússon sent a letter to the World Wildlife Fund and the Iceland Nature Conservation Association ..........