The European Union and Norway reached agreement on 1 December on total allowable catches (TACs) for shared stocks in the North Sea and Skagerrak in 2018 (see EUROPE 11878). There was no agreement, however, on the thorny issue of the snow crab fishery.
At the 40th annual EU-Norway consultations in Belgium to agree the TACs for jointly managed stocks and exchange fishing opportunities, the two parties achieved a compromise setting TACs for cod, plaice, haddock, saithe, whiting and herring on the basis of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) scientific opinions.
The European Commission says the agreement is balanced and is particularly pleased that the agreed TAC levels include adjustments for demersal fisheries subject to the landing obligation, based on further EU calculations. This, the Commission says, indicates that the introduction of the landing requirement is seen as a positive development by Norway.
The agreement reached still has to be approved by member state fisheries ministers who will meet in Brussels on 11 and 12 December.
Stalemate on snow crab. On the other hand, however, no progress was made on snow crabs. This is an issue that has divided the EU and Norway since Baltic vessels were authorised (by the EU) in 2016 to fish crab in the Svalbard zone.
Norway is seeking compensation from the EU (additional fishing quotas in EU waters) to allow its vessels to continue to fish in the zone. The EU wants a practical arrangement with Norway that would allow the snow crab fishery to continue without dispensing with interpretation of the 1920 Paris Treaty which provides for Norwegian sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago but allows signatory countries to carry out economic activities there.
The various TACs for 2018 are available at: http://bit.ly/2jSfx4N (Original version in French)