Mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic (combined Southern, Western, and North Sea spawning components)

ICES has updated its Autumn 2013 advice and advises on the basis of the Norway, Faroe Islands, and EU management plan  that  catches  in  2014  should  be  between  927  000  tonnes  and  1  011  000  tonnes.  ICES recommends  that  the management  plan  should  be  reviewed  and  possibly  revised  to  reflect  the  new  perception  of  the  stock  and  the  revised precautionary reference points.

ICES advises that the existing measures to protect the North Sea spawning component should remain in place.