The UK has secured access to more than 2000 tonnes of fishing opportunities Faroese waters, worth approximately £5 million based on historic landing prices, following annual negotiations with the Faroe Islands for 2026. This provides the UK fleet with quotas for primarily haddock and saithe in Faroese waters, with a by-catch allowance of cod.
The Faroese fleet gets an increased quota of Greenland halibut in UK waters, while the UK’s modest Grand Banks cod quota is to be fished by Faroese vessels.
This is the fifth year that the Faroe Islands and the UK agree on fisheries access, and this agreement is significant for the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The agreement signed between the Faroes Islands and Norway gives the Faroese fleet a cod quota in Norwegian waters reduced from 3910 tonnes to 3034 tonnes, while the haddock quota is increased to 1172 tonnes, the saithe quota is reduced to 425 tonnes, and the by-catch quota of 400 tonnes for other species is continued.
In line with the decrease in the cod quota in the Barents Sea, the agreement for 2026 incurs a reduction in quotas in this year’s agreement. Norway’s quota for mackerel in Faroese waters is reduced from 5150 tonnes to 2678 tonnes. This quota can be fished in Faroese waters, the Norwegian economic zone and international waters.
The Norwegian fleet’s allocation of ling and blue ling is reduced by 400 tonnes to 2100 tonnes, while the quota for tusk increases by 400 tonnes to 1800 tonnes. Norway’s quota of 600 tonnes of other species as by-catch is continued.
