The UK has secured exchanges of opportunities valued at around £5.5 million for the fishing industry through the annual negotiations with the Faroe Islands, providing certainty for the industry on quota for this year. The agreement will allow UK and Faroe vessels to fish in an area of each country’s waters. This year, the UK fishing industry will benefit from 1,000 tonnes of cod and haddock, worth approximately £2.2 million, and 1,250 tonnes of Atlantic pollock, worth approximately £1.3 million, as well as around £2 million worth of Ling, Blue Ling, Redfish, Flatfish, and other species.

Marine Scotland commented, that the Faroe Islands are one of Scotland’s closest Coastal State neighbours. As such, we have a number of shared fishing interests, and the UK and Faroe Islands are close negotiating partners, including in Coastal States consultations and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). The Parties signed a Framework Agreement on Fisheries in October 2020, and the bilateral agreement for 2022 marks the start of a new bilateral fisheries arrangement between the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom. The Parties agreed to quota exchanges worth an estimated value of more than £5 million to each Party (based on 2019 prices). This will see Scotland receiving the highest return ever on record for Faroese stocks.

Further information:

• The UK agreed catch limits for 2022 for six jointly managed fish stocks in the North Sea with Norway and the European Union on 10 December.
• The £5.5 million value of fishing opportunities for UK fleets is made up of 1,000 tonnes of cod and haddock worth approximately £2.2 million and 1,250 tonnes of Atlantic pollock worth approximately £1.3 million. A further 225 tonnes of Ling and Blue Ling worth around £400,000; 10 tonnes of Redfish equating approximately £20,000; 75 tonnes of Flatfish worth approximately £350,000 and 500 tonnes of unspecified other fish stocks worth around £1.3 million.
• This is based on historic landing prices.
• This agreement does not impact the UK’s bilateral negotiations with the EU. Those negotiations concluded on 21 December 2021 and focussed on the setting of total allowable catches (TACs) for bilateral UK-EU stocks and a range of related technical measures.
• UK vessels wishing to fish in Faroese waters in 2022 and with an allocation to do so will be able to apply for an external waters licence via the UK Single Issuing Authority (UKSIA).

However, some conservationists are up in arms over the decision to sign a new deal with the Faroe Islands following a record mass dolphin slaughter.