North Sea fisheries deal reached for 2025

The trilateral arrangement between the EU, Norway and the United Kingdom on jointly managed fish stocks in the North Sea for 2025 establishes total allowable catches (TAC) of over 958,000 tonnes, covering EU quotas of almost 463,000 tonnes of cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring, noted the European Commission.

The TAC agreements include a reduction for cod, consistent with the International Council of the Sea’s (ICES) advice. Fishing opportunities for North shelf cod were set in line with the precautionary advice by ICES for the southern component and at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels for both Viking and Northwestern sub-stocks. 

Delegations agreed to set a TAC for the whole Northern Shelf cod stock of 25,028 tonnes. They also set a haddock TAC of 112,435 tonnes, which is a decrease of 5.5% compared to 2024.

Parties also agreed to carry over existing area closures. 

TACs were set in line with maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for saithe and plaice, and below the MSY advice for North Sea whiting to cater for its interaction with cod and other demersal fisheries.

The EU, UK and Norway decided to set TACs for North Sea herring in line with the MSY advice by ICES and recalled their intention to review the management model in 2025. 

It was also agreed that parties would continue cooperating on monitoring, control and surveillance to improve compliance and achieve a level playing field.

Scottish government confirmed the delegations noted that according to the ICES MSY approach catches of North Sea autumn-spawning (NSAS) herring in 2025 in the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat, and eastern English Channel should be no more than 410,707 tonnes, representing a decrease of 22.8% in the advice compared to 2024.

They agreed to establish a TAC for 2025 for the A fleet of 388,542 tonnes, which is a decrease of 23.9% compared to 2024. By-catches of herring in other fisheries (the B fleet) is limited to 7,716 tonnes in 2025.