The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) on Monday said it is “optimistic” that the European Union and Norway will finally work out a bilateral fisheries agreement for 2010 this week.
In early December, negotiations between the EU and Norway broke down mainly over North Sea mackerel, which prevented the EU from setting quotas in waters it shares with Norway. The two parties were unable to reach an agreement that satisfied all fishermen.
Mackerel is harvested on the EU side mainly by Scottish fishermen. The agreement also includes cod, haddock, whiting, plaice and herring.
On Monday, the EU and Norway resumed talks in Brussels.
“We are fairly confident that an agreement between the EU and Norway will be reached this week, which will hopefully bring to an end the … uncertainty over the final quota levels for 2010,” said SFF President Ian Gatt. “It will also enable Scottish boats to gain access to Norwegian waters, and vice versa.”
Last week, the EU and Faeroe Islands reached an agreement on shared fisheries, which the SFF said is a good sign that the EU and Norway will do the same this week.
