The European Union and the Faroe Islands reached an agreement on 10 December on reciprocal exchanges of fishing opportunities in each other’s waters for 2020 (see EUROPE 12165/7).
The new agreement allows for the exchange of a number of important quotas for the EU (cod, haddock, saithe and redfish). In exchange, the Faroe Islands obtain catches of Norway pout and blue whiting in particular.
The Parties have also agreed on reciprocal access to each other’s waters for mackerel, Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting.
Quotas for 2020. The Agreement provides for the following Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for EU vessels from the Faroe Islands: cod and haddock (885 t), saithe (2,600 t), redfish (100 t), blue ling and ling (1,885 t), flatfish (50 t), blue whiting (2,500 t), other species (700 t).
For the Faroe Islands from EU waters: ling and tusk (200 t), blue ling (150 t), horse mackerel (1,600 t), Norway pout (5,000 t), blue whiting (10,000 t), sprat (1000 t), other white fish (150 t), herring (250 t), northern deep-water prawns (1,200 t), Greenland halibut (110 t).
Reciprocal access in respective waters. The agreement covers 34,856 tonnes of mackerel in 2020 (24,690 tonnes in 2019), 37,500 tonnes of blue whiting (22,500 tonnes in 2019) and 7,000 tonnes of Atlanto-Scandian herring (4,000 tonnes in 2019). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)