The United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands have signed a continuity agreement that will enable U.K. vessels to continue fishing in Faroese waters after the country leaves the European Union on 31 October.
Currently, the U.K. fleet fishes in these waters under the E.U.-Faroe Islands fisheries agreement. When the U.K. leaves the E.U. and becomes an independent coastal state, this current agreement will cease. However, the new agreement, signed on 15 October, ensures that the existing arrangements between the two countries remain in place until the end of 2019.
According to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), the new agreement will:
- Honor the existing access arrangements agreed, in as far as they concern the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands.
- Ensure that appropriate licensing, control and enforcement provisions are in place, following the model agreed by the E.U. and Faroe Islands, to enable fishing opportunities to continue to be enjoyed by both parties for the remainder of 2019.
- Honor the existing quota exchanges and access arrangements for 2019.
This deal follows an agreement signed on the 30 September between the U.K. government and Norway to ensure similar continuity arrangements.
In further preparation for Brexit, a new licensing authority – the Single Issuing Authority (SIA) – has been set up jointly by the England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland administrations. Its aim is to ensure fishermen have the correct licenses to fish legally after leaving the E.U.
The SIA is calling on vessel owners in the over 12-meter fleet to ensure their vessel has an IMO number, which will be needed to fish outside U.K. waters. It is advising that applications to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) should be made now to enable the timely processing of the subsequent licensing documentation.
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