Marine

Agreement on 2025 fishing opportunities reached between UK, EU and Norway 

December 5, 2024 by Marine Directorate Communications No Comments | Category fish stocks, Fisheries, fisheries agreement, fisheries negotiations

The UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations to set Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for six shared North Sea stocks have now concluded.

The agreement sees TACs for all six of the jointly managed stocks set at levels consistent with the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach. The resulting quotas are worth an estimated value of more than £200 million to Scotland. Parties also discussed a number of areas of joint working, which will continue with further close cooperation during 2025.

The catch limit for Northern Shelf cod has been agreed at a level reflecting the headline advice for the southern substock, and MSY scenarios for the two northern substocks. This will reduce fishing pressure. It is forecast to result in increases in the spawning stock biomass of all three substocks, whilst not disproportionately impacting those vessels fishing the relatively healthy northern substocks.

2025 TACs for the stocks have been agreed as follows. Percentage change from 2024 is shown in brackets:

• North Sea cod: 19,910 tonnes (-20.04%)
• North Sea haddock: 95,862 tonnes (-5.48%)
• North Sea whiting: 111,861 tonnes (+45.85%)
• North Sea saithe: 71,638 tonnes (+7.12%)
• North Sea plaice: 155,755 tonnes (+14.18%)
• North Sea herring (A fleet): 388,542 tonnes (-23.86%)

Commitments were made in the agreed record to progress work in 2025 on a number of areas of joint working, including the development of a long term management strategy for saithe, management of cod and herring, and monitoring, control and surveillance.

Additional bilateral consultations with coastal state partners are ongoing.

The trilateral agreed record can be viewed here. Allocations of quotas to individual producer organisations and vessels will be made in the new year.

Tags: Cod, fisheries, fisheries negotiations, fishing, Marine, North Sea, whiting

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