Brussels, 06/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Consultations between the EU and Norway in Bergen on 3 December brought an agreement on exchanging fisheries quotas for 2011 and on the catch limits for those stocks which are jointly managed in the North Sea.
An agreement was finalised on total allowable catch (TAC) limits for the following stocks in the North Sea for 2011: a 15% increase in the TAC for whiting; a 21% increase in the herring TAC; a 20% reduction in the cod TAC; a 5% drop in the TAC for haddock; and a 13% reduction in saithe. The EU and Norway also came to an arrangement on exchanging a number of fishing opportunities (EU vessels fishing some species in Norwegian waters and Norwegian vessels fishing in EU waters). The two parties also reached agreement on expanding the “fully documented fisheries” trials, allowing a larger number of fishermen to take part in 2011. This programme, which ends discards, only applies to the cod fishery. Agreement was also reached on an interim management plan for whiting.
Discussions on mackerel between the EU, the Faroe Islands ands Iceland will resume next week in Copenhagen.
The Skagerrak Agreement, which accords preferential access to the waters of Skagerrak to Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vessels, expires in 2012. The EU and Norway have agreed to begin exploratory talks in 2011. They also decided to reduce the herring TAC in the waters of the Skagerrak. (L.C./transl.rt)