A tripartite agreement on quotas and management of joint North Sea stocks has been reached between Norway, the EU and the UK.
‘I am satisfied that we have a fisheries agreement with the EU and Britain. The agreement we have now entered into means that we agree on quotas for stocks we manage together in the North Sea and is important for all three parties. The agreement contributes to sustainable management,’ says Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Marianne Sivertsen Næss.
There have been two rounds of negotiation since talks began in October, resulting in a cod TAC of 25,028 tonnes – a reduction of 20% compared to the 2024. This quota includes cod west of Scotland. The quota set aside for the North Sea is 19,910 tonnes.
ICES last year presented quota advice for cod which divided the stock in the North Sea into three sub-stocks. In addition, the quota advice included cod in the West of Scotland area, which has previously been managed separately. The changes have complicated quota decisions, and work has been initiated to examine future management, including cod sampling.
The parties also agree to continue closing the spawning grounds for cod in 2025. The closures will take place in the first quarter.
The parties have adopted a North Sea herring TAC of 410,707 tonnes. This is a reduction of 22.8% compared to 2024.
The concerned nations have worked on various issues surrounding the management of North Sea herring, and ICES will respond to an inquiry about a new management plan in 2025. On this basis, the parties will meet next year to discuss new ways of managing this herring, where the aim is to end up with one TAC which is distributed between the parties. As a temporary arrangement for 2025, quotas have been adopted in line with the old arrangement.
According to ICES, the other shared stocks in the North Sea are in good shape.
For saithe, the parties have adopted a 71,638-tonne TAC, which is an increase of 7.1%. The haddock TAC of 112,435 tonnes represents an increase of 5.5%.
