NORWAY SETS UNILATERAL BLUE WHITING QUOTA

Norway sets unilateral blue whiting quota

In the coastal state negotiations on blue whiting earlier this autumn, it was agreed to set a total quota (TAC) of 1,529,754 tonnes in 2024. This is in line with the advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

“Norway has maintained a Norwegian traditional share of the total quota for blue whiting since 2016. We will also do so in 2024,” says Fisheries and Oceans Minister Cecilie Myrseth.

The Norwegian traditional part is 26.245 per cent of the total quota, which corresponds to 390,904 tonnes of blue whiting in 2024. Of the total Norwegian quota, it has been decided to set aside 30 tonnes for research and teaching purposes.

In the fisheries negotiations in the joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission, Norway has exchanged 26,628 tonnes of blue whiting to Russia in 2024. Following the fisheries agreement that Norway has entered into with the Faroe Islands in 2023, Norwegian vessels can fish 53,600 tonnes of blue whiting in Faroese waters in 2024.

“The regulation of blue whiting has worked well in recent years. The Norwegian blue whiting quota is distributed in the same way as in previous years, with 78 percent to the blue whiting trawl group and 22 percent to the pelagic trawl/North Sea trawl group. It will provide a stable and predictable regulation of fishing for blue whiting also in 2024,” says Myrseth.

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