Defra have announced that the UK has secured fishing catch limits worth £202 million to the UK fishing industry, a £33 million increase from last year, after reaching an agreement with Norway and the EU.

The UK agreed catch levels for 2023 for six important fish stocks in the North Sea including North Sea cod, haddock and herring.

This comes as the UK also concluded negotiations on catch limits with coastal States in the North East Atlantic on three more key stocks to the UK fishing fleet – blue whiting, mackerel and atlanto-Scandian herring.

Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said: “I’m pleased we have reached agreements with the EU and Norway, and wider coastal states, to secure important fish stocks worth over £450 million for the UK fishing fleet in 2023.”

The catch levels agreed for North Sea stocks for 2023 (compared to 2022) are:

• Cod +63%
• Haddock +30%
• Herring -7.3%
• Plaice +5.8%
• Saithe +18.7%
• Whiting +30%

Last month, the UK reached an agreement with Norway. An assessment on the number of individual Total Allowable Catches set consistent with ICES advice will be published on the conclusion of the UK’s annual fisheries negotiations.

An announcement on the agreements from the Scottish Government can be found here. The full announcement from Defra can be read here.