The E.U. has opened 12 time-limited import quotas for Norwegian seafood, including mackerel, herring, and wild-caught shrimp, as part of a wider agreement reached between Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the E.U.
In tandem with overall negotiations on European Economic Area (EEA) funds, Norway and the E.U. have revised their joint fisheries protocol that ran from 2014 to 2021, with the new agreement now covering the period between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2028.
With the deal being retroactive, the Norwegian Ministry of Industry and Fisheries said the agreed quota volume covering the period that has passed from 1 May 2021 until the quotas are opened will be distributed over the remaining agreement period until 30 May 2028.
If the quotas are not fully utilized, it will be possible to draw on the remaining volume until 30 May 2030 or until a possible new period of duty-free quotas comes into place.
“The E.U. is by far the most important market for Norwegian seafood, and more duty-free quotas provide more export opportunities for Norwegian products, both from fisheries and aquaculture,” Norwegian Fisheries and Oceans Minister Marianne Sivertsen Næss said in a statement.
Negotiations on a new period of EEA funds formally began in June 2022, and negotiators agreed on them in November 2023. On 25 June this year, the agreement was approved by the E.U., and the agreement will now be submitted to the Norwegian Parliament for final approval.
Though fixed procedures in place may result in it taking a few months before importers and exporters can use the duty-free quotas, Norway’s Ministry of Industry and Fisheries said the government is actively communicating with the E.U. to find a solution that helps the industry draw on the quotas as soon as possible.
