Visquota zorgen voor onenigheid tussen de EU en Noorwegen (en)
Following weeks of talks between the EU and Norway, the two sides have ended up kicking each other out of their respective fishing waters.
"The commission deeply regrets that, despite all the efforts made to reach agreement with Norway, the respective approaches of the two parties at this stage have proved to be irreconcilable," European commissioner for fish Joe Borg said following the breakdown.
Talks in Bergen, Norway, hit the buffers over the issue of access to mackerel for 2010 in the North sea, stalling on the subject of Norwegian access to fish for a portion of its mackerel quota in EU waters.
According to the commission, Brussels offered increased access to Norway to fish for mackerel in EU waters, "without asking for compensation by Norway," but this was rejected.
A provisional rollover arrangement, which would have allowed the two sides to continue fishing in each others' waters in early 2010 while talks continued in the expectation that an agreement would eventually be reached, was also not acceptable to Oslo. The commission expressed "surprise" at the move.
"This was a missed opportunity to conclude a balanced deal," said Mr Borg, who added: "The same co-operative spirit that had guided the discussions last year to reduce wasteful discards, seemed absent."
Brussels said it was confident that talks would resume in the new year and that EU member states were likely to assist any fishermen affected by the disagreement.
Norway's National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) said it had asked for access to fish 125,000 tonnes of its mackerel quota in EU waters (down from 153,000 tonnes) but the EU signalled that it was unwilling to move beyond 80,000 tonnes.
"We understand that all the other elements in the agreement had been tentatively agreed but the whole deal foundered on this one issue," the NFFO said in a statement.
In mid-October, some 30 Norwegian fishing boats attempting to fish for mackerel were turned away from European waters by EU coast guards.
At the time, Norwegian authorities said the incident was a breach of bilateral fishing agreements between the two sides.