Cooperation with the UK on fisheries is progressing well, according to the European Commission, which said on Monday 6 September that there was still “quite a lot of work” to do on the 2022 quotas and the work in the specialised committee on fisheries.
Charlina Vitcheva, Director General of DG MARE, gave an update on the EU/UK consultations at a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries.
She began by noting the agreement that had been reached on the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2021 for 75 jointly managed species (see EUROPE 12739/4).
Licences. “Impressive progress” has been made on EU fishing vessel licences in UK waters, “although the job is far from complete”, the Director General acknowledged. “There are fewer problem cases”, Vitcheva said.
A director at DG MARE reported that around 1,700 EU vessels had access to UK waters and that over 100 EU vessels had access to Channel Islands resources (temporary arrangements).
Specialised committee. The first meeting of the EU/UK Fisheries Committee took place on 20 July. The Council of the EU has yet to give the Commission a mandate on the issues to be addressed in this body. The matter of licences should be included.
TAC 2022. Negotiations with the UK on the 2022 TACs and quotas for jointly managed species will take place in November. An agreement must be reached by 10 December, according to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The EU was able to achieve “a very good result” on the 2021 TACs, said a director at DG MARE. He said that quota-limited stocks and species not subject to TACs will have to be taken into account in 2022. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)