An outline of possible post-Brexit management for North Sea fisheries was outlined at the recent Norway-EU negotiations in Bergen, with the Norwegian delegation presenting a picture of how things will work with the UK as an independent coastal state.
Norway and the EU have concluded agreements for fisheries in 2018, with both Norway and the EU looking to boost control of whitefish fisheries. The parties agreed to establish a working group to examine the challenges in the North Sea, and what measures should be introduced.
According to Scottish fisheries secretary Fergus Ewing, Scotland has secured a number of its negotiation objectives as fisheries talks between the EU and Norway concluded in Bergen.
Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, Ghana’s Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, has launched a pilot study on biodegradable Fish Aggregating Devices.
It has taken a few weeks of negotiations and false starts, but Iceland finally has a new government in place, a coalition of the Left-Green, Progressive and Independence parties under new Prime Minister and Left-Green chair Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
Nations with interests in the Arctic regions met this week in Washington DC to reach an international agreement on future exploitation of Arctic fish stocks as increasing areas of international waters become ice-free and accessible.
Another barrier to trading in illegal catches has been raised as Kenya became the 51st nation to become party to the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). This international treaty is designed to end illegal fishing by tightening controls exerted on fishing vessels as they access port services.
Norway’s Ministry of the Environment has cleared the way for Statoil to drill for oil on the Viking Bank. Jonny Berfjord, chair of the board of directors of Norwegian vessel owners’ organisation Fiskebåt, has expressed his disappointment at the decision.
Ahead of the December Fisheries Council, where EU Member States will agree fishing quotas for 2018, the European Commission has tabled its proposal on catch limits and quotas for the Black Sea, following adoption of the first-ever multi-annual management plan for the region.
The UK Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is inviting evidence on how potential changes to the fisheries and seafood trading arrangements between the UK and the EU will affect fishermen, seafood processors, consumers, coastal communities and the environment.