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UK REACHES DEAL FOR CONTINUED ACCESS TO FISH IN NORWEGIAN WATERS
January 6, 2025
UK reaches deal for continued access to fish in Norwegian waters.
- The UK has struck a deal with Norway ensuring continued access to Norwegian North Sea waters for 2025
- The agreement will also secure UK quota for Arctic cod, worth over £3 million based on historic landing prices
- This follows the conclusion of the UK’s wider fishing negotiations in recent weeks, which secured 720,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities for the UK fleet in 2025
The UK fishing industry will benefit from continued access to Norwegian waters to catch up to 30,000 tonnes of their whitefish quota in stocks such as cod, haddock and hake, the UK Government has been announced.
Through the negotiations the government has also agreed mutual access to fish up to 20,000 tonnes of herring stocks in our respective waters and quota transfers of Arctic stocks, primarily Arctic cod. The agreement will secure UK quota for Arctic cod worth over £3 million based on historic landing prices
The UK’s annual bilateral fisheries negotiations with Norway are an important forum for both parties to discuss fisheries management measures with the mutual aim to manage environmentally and economically sustainable fisheries, and a profitable fishing sector.
This agreement follows the completion of the UK’s bilateral negotiations with the EU, trilateral negotiations with the EU and Norway, and coastal States in the northeast Atlantic, which secured 720,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities for the UK fleet in 2025.
The opportunities secured by the UK will help foster a sustainable and financially thriving fishing industry and support coastal communities through creating local jobs and driving economic growth, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.
Fisheries Minister Daniel Zeichner said:
“As result of these negotiations the UK fishing industry will benefit from continued access to Norwegian North Sea waters, which is home to important whitefish stocks. These arrangements reinforce the UK and Norway’s strong partnership, supporting a sustainable and profitable fishing industry while ensuring continuity and stability for the sector.”
The outcome of annual fisheries negotiations will be published in the Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British boats by the end of the year.
Values based on full uptake of fishing opportunities and provisional 2023 landing prices. All figures are rounded and may change slightly once a full analysis has been completed.
Bilateral fisheries negotiations between the UK and the Faroe Islands are currently on-going.
The Agreed Records for the negotiations can be found on GOV.UK:
Outcome of UK/Norway bilateral negotiations
The bilateral negotiations between the UK and Norway focus on access to each other’s waters, quota exchanges and control and enforcement measures.
The UK and Norway have agreed to extend the reciprocal access of up to 30,000 tonnes for North Sea whitefish stocks in each other waters for 2025.
The UK and Norway have agreed to extend the reciprocal access of up to 30,000 tonnes for North Sea whitefish stocks in each other waters for 2025.
They have also agreed to grant access for UK vessels to fish up to 20,000 tonnes of Norwegian Spring Spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) herring in Norwegian waters and access for Norwegian vessels to fish up to 20,000 tonnes of North Sea herring in UK waters.
The UK and Norway also agreed to a quota transfer, bringing in 1,150 tonnes of Arctic stocks, worth over £3 million based on historic landing prices.
In addition to these negotiations, the UK receives quota in Arctic stocks in the waters around Svalbard under a separate understanding between the UK and Norway. For 2025 the UK will receive 3,075 tonnes of North-East Arctic cod.
Read the relevant announcement on GOV.UK
Outcome of UK/EU bilateral negotiations
This deal set catch limits of around 70 total allowable catches (TACs), monitoring arrangement for non-quota stocks as well as other arrangements on seabass and albacore. The agreement also commits the UK and EU to work together to provide more sustainable fisheries management.
For non-quota stocks (NQS), the UK and the EU agreed a roll-over of access arrangements for 2025 to ensure continued access to fish NQS in EU waters. UK fleet landings for these stocks are historically worth around £30 million a year. We also agreed to roll-over existing joint management measures and increase within ICES advice some catch limits for seabass, and a roll-over of access arrangements for spurdog in the North Sea and albacore tuna.
The speed with which the negotiations concluded this year is a sign of the effective implementation of the TCA since 2020, which has built on collaborative efforts through the SCF.
Read the relevant announcement on GOV.UK
Outcome of UK/EU/Norway trilateral negotiations
This deal agreed catch limits on six North Sea fish stocks including cod, haddock and herring and further stocks in other waters around the UK.
Read the relevant announcement on GOV.UK
