Iceland’s minister of fisheries and agriculture Kristján Thór Júlíusson has taken the decision to exclude Faroese fishing vessels from Icelandic waters in 2018, just as the Faroe Islands warned Iceland its vessels would not have access to blue whiting in the Faroese zone unless concessions were made.
The background to the decision is the annual meeting between the Icelandic and Faroese ministers that took place in Tórshavn 12-13th December, where the negotiating teams failed to reach agreement on reciprocal fishing rights for Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting in each other’s waters.
According to a statement from the Icelandic ministry, Iceland’s offer was for the existing agreement to be renewed with the terms unchanged, while the Faroese delegation wanted additional access to groundfish in Icelandic waters and an end to the restriction on processing capelin for human consumption.
With no agreement in place, and following the announcement by the Faroese authorities that Icelandic vessels would not have access to blue whiting unless the Faroese demands were met, the Icelandic ministry took the decision to rescind the regulation allowing access for Faroese vessels as of 1st January 2018.
