EU, Iceland hold talks in bid to end 'mackerel war'

The European Union on Friday said it would block Iceland's fishing boats from unloading mackerel until a dispute over quotas is resolved, but Reykjavik insisted the measure would have no impact.Iceland and the EU have been locked in a "mackerel war" since the Nordic nation raised its mackerel catch quota to levels unacceptable to the 27-nation bloc as well as other partners, including Norway.

Iceland rejected a mackerel quota proposed by the European Union and Norway, saying it was unrealistic and would not solve the fishing spat in the north Atlantic, its negotiator said on Friday.Iceland rejected a proposal to increase its quota of the fish to 26,000 tonnes, higher than the previous quota of 2,000 tonnes.Reykjavik unilaterally raised the quota to 130,000 tonnes this year, angering the EU."The offer is unrealistic and does not contribute to fixing the problem," negotiator Tomas Heidar was quoted as saying by Frettabladid newspaper.

The North-east Atlantic mackerel fishery has joined the three quarters of worldwide stocks that are either declining or being fished beyond a sustainable level

Three-day talks between the European Union, Norway and Iceland to find a solution to the so-called mackerel war failed without the parties agreeing on new quota levels, Norway said Friday."Things are moving. Our points of view are getting closer but the distance is still such that we couldn't reach an agreement," the head of the Norwegian delegation Johan Henrik Williams told AFP.

Three-day talks between the European Union, Norway and Iceland to find a solution to the so-called mackerel war failed without the parties agreeing on new quota levels, Norway said on Friday.

Iceland's unilateral decision to hike its mackerel quota was "completely justified," a spokesman for the fisheries ministry said Tuesday, adding Iceland was never subject to a mackerel limit.The European Union's fisheries chief Maria Damanaki said on Monday she was ready to battle Iceland and the Faroe Islands for unilaterally raising their mackerel quotas in their row with the bloc dubbed the "mackerel war."

Iceland rejected a mackerel quota proposed by the European Union and Norway, saying it was unrealistic and would not solve the fishing spat in the north Atlantic, its negotiator said on Friday.

Iceland and the Faroe Islands face their "last chance" to end a mackerel quota war in negotiations next month, EU fisheries ministers said, otherwise the EU could impose sanctions.European Union Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki set out the proposal during two-day talks on fishing quotas running through Friday with important EU fishing states angered at unilateral high quotas set by these non-EU neighbours for precious stock in need of protection.