00:00Northeast Atlantic mackerel faces collapse from overfishing, despite scientific warnings.
00:05Mackerel used to seem endless.
00:08Fast fish.
00:10Silver bodies.
00:12Huge schools moving through the Northeast Atlantic.
00:16But now, the stock is under serious pressure.
00:19The European Commission warned that Northeast Atlantic mackerel is already in an unsustainable state after years of overfishing.
00:26For 2026, scientific advice from ISIS recommended a total allowable catch of no more than 174,357 tons.
00:37But a quota arrangement between the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands set a catch of 299,010
00:46tons.
00:47That is 72% above the recommended level.
00:51And if Russia's catches continue at recent levels, total fishing pressure could climb far higher.
00:58This is the problem with shared fish.
01:01Mackerel do not respect political borders.
01:05One country can promise restraint.
01:07Another can take more.
01:09And the fish still come from the same stock.
01:12The dispute is not just about boats.
01:14It is about science versus short-term economics.
01:18Fishing communities need income.
01:21Consumers want cheap seafood.
01:24Governments want quota leverage.
01:26But a collapsed stock helps no one.
01:30Once a population falls too far, recovery can take years, even with strict limits.
01:35The most dangerous phrase in fishing is,
01:37Just one more season.
01:40Because the ocean can look full right up until the moment the schools stop coming back.
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