A trilateral agreement on management of shared North Sea stocks has been signed by the UK the EU and Norway, while the EU and Norway have concluded a number of bilateral agreements.
Of the six stocks that come under the agreement, TACs for three are increased, and reduced for two, while the cod TAC is a rollover of the 2021 catch limits at 13,246 tonnes. ICES produced a substantial increase in advice for a number of North Sea stocks, with haddock and whiting showing considerable expansion in their biomass.
The decision between the parties was not to take advantage of the the full quota increase advised by scientists for haddock and whiting, given their interactions with stocks such as cod in North Sea mixed fishery. The 5% increase for haddock and 25% increase for whiting are the agreed figures.
The TAC for North Sea herring is up by 20% for 2022, and this is also below the ICES recommendation.
Reductions are for a 12% drop in the plaice TAC and a 24% reduction for saithe.
“We are proud to have led discussion to a positive conclusion as we seek to set a gold standard for the entire fishing industry. We are confident that this agreement has struck a balance that will benefit both our fishing industry and ensure our marine environment is healthy and viable long into the future,” said UK Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis.
“As an independent coastal State the UK has agreed catch levels that provide opportunities estimated to be worth around £190 million to our fishing industry,” commented UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord.
“I welcome the outcome of these negotiations as they provide certainty and stability for fishermen in Scotland and the rest of the UK while championing sustainability.”
EU-Norway bilateral agreements
The EU and Norway have concluded three bilateral agreements relating to quota exchanges, reciprocal access and quota setting in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat in what is described as an ambitious balance of exchanges of fishing opportunities of major economic interest.
Among other stocks, the EU will receive 10,259 tonnes of Arctic cod for 2022, while it will transfer to Norway 31,500 tonnes of blue whiting and 69,623 tonnes of capelin. The arrangement on reciprocal access for the jointly managed stocks in the North Sea with a slight decrease in the level of access for both Parties. For pelagic stocks, the EU will have access to catch its quota of Norwegian Spring spawning herring in Norwegian waters, while in the case of blue whiting there will be reciprocal access to waters of the other party to catch up to 114,554 tonnes.
Another pilar of the agreement was the management of the different herring TACs in the Skagerrak and the North Sea. In order to protect the Western Baltic herring stock, which mixes with the North Sea herring in the Skagerrak, both the EU and Norway took major decisions to drastically cut the actual herring catches through various management measures, while at the same time maintaining the relative stability between of the quotas and shares between the Parties.
Finally, the parties also signed the neighbouring arrangement covering the Swedish fishery in Norwegian waters of the North Sea.
