On the evening of Friday 8 December, the EU Council approved the terms of the agreement reached with the United Kingdom, which guarantees fishing rights for EU fishermen in the Atlantic and North Sea.
The agreement reached at the annual EU-UK consultations sets out fishing rights for 2024 for around a hundred shared fish stocks.
The figures for the stocks shared with the UK will be incorporated into the main regulation on fishing opportunities in the Atlantic and North Sea negotiated by European ministers on 10 and 11 December.
The EU and the UK have decided to reduce TACs in 2024 (compared with 2023) for these stocks: haddock in the Irish Sea (-14.5%), haddock in the Celtic Sea (-30.6%), whiting in the Celtic Sea (-50%), plaice by-catches in the Channel (-42%).
The parties have agreed to increase the TACs for whiting to the west of Scotland (+20%) and megrim in the North Sea (+9.6%).
The agreement guarantees fishing opportunities of almost 388,000 tonnes for the EU fleet, estimated to be worth around €1 billion, according to the European Commission.
For Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, the agreement takes account of the sustainability of stocks and the socio-economic impact for fishermen.
Link to the table on these TACs: https://aeur.eu/f/a2o
Trilateral agreements. In addition, the EU has finalised agreements with Norway and the UK, as well as bilateral agreements with Norway, on fishing opportunities and access to waters for 2024.
The trilateral agreement (EU, Norway and the UK) on jointly managed fisheries stocks in the North Sea for 2024 provides for TACs of 915,000 tonnes, including EU TACs of 415,000 tonnes for cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring.
The agreement on TACs includes an increase in cod catches.
At the same time, the EU and Norway have concluded bilateral consultations. The EU will receive 9,983 tonnes of Arctic cod for 2024, while it will transfer 48,000 tonnes of blue whiting to Norway. The EU will be able to catch up to 15,107 tonnes of Atlanto-Scandian herring in Norwegian waters. At the same time, Norway is granted access to EU waters to fish 150,000 tonnes of blue whiting.
The EU and Norway have decided to implement measures to reduce fishing mortality on Western Baltic herring, which mix with North Sea herring in the Skagerrak and Eastern North Sea. These measures include limiting catches in the Skagerrak.
Finally, the Parties also signed the neighbouring arrangement covering the Swedish fisheries in Norwegian waters in the North Sea.
For more details: https://aeur.eu/f/a2p (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)