The Council of the European Union approves an agreement with the United Kingdom for fishing in the Atlantic and the North Sea

The Council of the European Union (the countries) approved this Friday an agreement reached with the United Kingdom that guarantees the fishing rights of EU fishermen in the Atlantic and the North Sea, and that will affect around 100 in 2024. shared fish populations.

“Our agreement with the United Kingdom guarantees important fishing opportunities for our fishermen and was reached thanks to the goodwill shown by both parties during the negotiations,” Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Luis Planas said in a statement from the Council of the EU.

Planas highlighted that the agreement guarantees that the EU's fishing rights in the Atlantic and North Sea will continue to be protected next year and that sustainability commitments are also met.

The pact reached by 2024 will guarantee stability and certainty for EU fishermen and the industry, the EU Council stressed.

The agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom determines fishing rights for 2024 for around 100 shared fish stocks, in particular the total allowable catch (TAC), that is, the maximum quantities of fish from specific stocks that can be caught , and each the respective fishing rights of each party.

Approved by written procedure, this agreement is part of the annual process of establishing fishing opportunities in EU and non-EU waters for the coming year.

At the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council that will take place next Sunday and Monday in Brussels, the figures negotiated with the United Kingdom will thus become part of the main regulation on fishing opportunities for the Atlantic and the North Sea.

In line with scientific advice, some of the stocks for which the EU and the UK have agreed to reduce TACs for 2024, compared to 2023, are haddock in the Irish Sea (-14.5%) and in the Celtic Sea (-30.6%), as well as Whiting in the Celtic Sea (-50%) and by-catch of plaice in the English Channel (-42%).

In contrast, they agreed to increase TACs for 2024, compared to 2023, with whiting in the west of Scotland (+20%) and roosters in the North Sea (+9.6%).

The EU and the UK based their agreement on the best available scientific advice, provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), and is also in line with the objectives of the EU common fisheries policy and the Fisheries Agreement. Trade and Cooperation concluded with the United Kingdom after Brexit.

For unadvised populations, the EU and UK agreed to work together to improve data availability.

Regarding stocks with zero catch advice, delegations agreed that it would be appropriate to establish specific TACs for bycatch (species that are caught unintentionally while fishing for other specific species).

The level of these TACs has been set to ensure that fishing mortality does not increase and that the stock can recover. For some populations a small TAC was established to allow continuous monitoring of the population.

Following the UK's withdrawal from the EU, fish stocks jointly managed by the EU and the UK are considered shared resources under international law.

Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, both parties agree to hold annual consultations with a view to determining TACs and quotas for the following year.

The agreement includes a licensing system for fishing vessels through which mutual access to each other's waters is guaranteed. The adopted provisions will apply from January 1, 2024.