The European Union, Norway and United Kingdom have concluded an agreement on the management of shared fish stocks in the North Sea for 2026.
In talks that ended on 5 December 2025, negotiators also agreed on a new management approach for North Sea herring, including a long-term management strategy for the stock and a package of management measures that will help ensure the sustainability of herring fisheries in the North Sea and the Skagerrak-Kattegat.
The agreement further includes remedial measures to support the Northern shelf cod stock recovery to sustainable levels, such as new and extended seasonal closures and enhanced real-time-closures.
All total allowable catches (TACs) were set in line with the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) – the highest amount of fish that can be taken from the sea without harming its ability to reproduce and sustain it.
The EU, Norway and the UK also agreed to continue cooperating on monitoring, control and surveillance, developing best practices and measures to strengthen compliance and ensure a level playing field.
According to the European Commission, the North Sea agreement secures 343,000 tonnes of cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring for the EU fleet, worth €609 million.
