Negotiations between Norway and the EU on fishing quotas in the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat are now complete.
“The agreement means that 2017 quotas for plaice in the Skagerrak and quotas for cod and saithe increase compared to the 2016 quotas, while quotas for haddock and herring decline next year,” said Malin Skog of the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
The talks have been held over two weeks in Copenhagen and Bergen, and the pressure has as usual been high both in the EU and Norway to reach agreement before the end of the year. The agreement means that fishing opportunities may be decided by the Council of Ministers of the EU in December so that fishing can commence from 1 January 2017.
The basis for the quota is the established management objectives of the EU's common fisheries policy and management strategies established between the EU and Norway.
ICES and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) contribute scientific advice.
The parties also agreed on adjustments to the quotas for cod, haddock, saithe, whiting and plaice as a result of the EU's gradual introduction of the landing obligation.
