Brussels, 27/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - After long months of negotiations, the European Union and Norway reached agreement in the evening of Tuesday 26 January on a crucial long-term agreement on the management of mackerel stocks in the waters of the North-East Atlantic, which provides for stable quota shares and for agreed access arrangements for their respective fleets over a 10-year period. It also finalised the bilateral fisheries agreement for 2010 between the two parties. The European Commission hopes that this agreement will serve as a model for other similar arrangements with other coastal states, such as Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Balanced quota exchange. Norway has obtained fishing rights for various species in the Community area and Greenland waters, in return for total allowable catches (TACs) for Community vessels in Norwegian waters. The volumes of fishing possibilities will remain at their 2009 levels, and the EU has obtained additional access to cod in North Norway. Quotas of pelagic fish (whiting and horse mackerel) allocated to Norway in Western Waters have been reduced.
The agreement also sets TACs for the main stocks in the North Sea: - cod: 33,552 tonnes in 2010 (5,704t for Norway and 27,848t for the EU), compared with 28,798t in 2009; - haddock: 35,794t in 2010 (8,073t for Norway and 27,711t for the EU), compared with 42,110 in 2009; - saithe: 107,044t in 2010 (56,613t for Norway and 50,431t for the EU), compared with 125,934t in 2009; - whiting: 12,897t (790t for Norway and 12,107t for the EU); - plaice: 63,825t in 2010 (4,268t for Norway and 59,557t for the EU), compared with 55,500t in 2009; - mackerel: 60,446t in 2010 (39,054t for Norway and 31,392t for the EU), compared with 63,826t in 2009; - herring: 164,300t in 2010 (47,647t for Norway and 116,653t for the EU), compared with 171,000t in 2009.
A new incentive scheme has also been put in place to encourage fishermen to reduce the level of cod discards. (L.C./transl.rt)