The United Kingdom’s fishing industry will benefit from increased fishing opportunities worth nearly GBP 5 million (USD 5.9 million, EUR 5.8 million) in 2023 after reaching an agreement with Norway to secure access to key stocks, according to the U.K. Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Defra said the deal secures quota of North Sea whitefish stocks worth nearly GBP 3 million (USD 3.6 million, EUR 3.5 million) and Arctic stocks worth close to GBP 2 million (USD 2.4 million, EUR 2.3 million) for 2023, and ensures U.K. vessels have access to Norwegian waters to fish their own demersal and pelagic quota.
The U.K. and Norway negotiate access to each other’s waters, quota exchanges, and control and enforcement measures annually.
The arrangement reached for 2023 extends the 2022 deal on mutual access, with the U.K. fishing industry having access to 30,000 metric tons (MT) of whitefish stocks, including cod, haddock, and hake in the North Sea.
It also grants each party access to fish up to 20,000 MT of herring in their respective waters and allows 1,100 MT of quota transfers from Norway of key U.K. stocks.
Additionally, the U.K. fleet will have access to 750 MT of cod quota in Norway’s Arctic waters.
“I’m delighted to reach a deal with Norway for 2023 which gives U.K. fishing vessels access to key fish stocks and quota in the North Sea and Arctic and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Norway and other coastal states to manage fishing sustainably,” U.K. Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said.
This new deal sits alongside a separate arrangement that the U.K. has with Norway, under which it is expected that more than 5,200 MT of additional arctic opportunities will be transferred to the former in 2023. In total, this should provide the U.K. fleet with over 6,000 MT of fishing opportunities in Arctic waters.
Trilateral negotiations between the U.K., Norway, and the E.U. are still ongoing. In these annual negotiations, the U.K. agrees on catch limits for the following year for six jointly-managed fish stocks in the North Sea with Norway and the E.U.
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