On Wednesday 10 December, the European Union and the United Kingdom reached an agreement on fishing opportunities for 2026, covering almost 100 stocks in the North-East Atlantic.
This agreement guarantees EU fleets the possibility of fishing up to 288,000 tonnes, worth more than €1.2 billion.
In May 2025, the EU and the UK agreed to guarantee full reciprocal access to waters until 2038. This has enabled the negotiations to focus on setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for 2026 and on technical measures. Today’s agreement also guarantees mutual access to waters for albacore tuna fishing until 2030.
Several key stocks in the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and English Channel - cod, haddock, whiting, sole and plaice - have fallen below critical biological thresholds. To promote the rapid recovery of these populations, the EU and the UK have agreed on a package of remedial measures, including improved gear selectivity, larger mesh sizes and the mandatory use of selective devices in Nephrops fisheries in the Irish Sea.
Precautionary measures are also planned for certain stocks, including spurdog, skate and dogfish, as well as sea bass.
The UK says it has obtained increased fishing opportunities for pollack and European sea bass, as well as a commercially viable quota for herring in the Irish Sea and geographical flexibility for sole in the Celtic Sea.
Details of the EU/UK agreement: https://aeur.eu/f/jxr (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)