EU – Norway talks breakdown

Talks between the European Union and Norway on quotas and total allowable catches (TACs) for North Sea stocks such as cod and haddock have broken down without agreement over the right of the Norwegians to fish for mackerel in EU waters.

It is understood the talks will not now resume until the new year.

The failure to reach agreement will add further difficulty and complications to the fisheries management arrangements to be determined by the EU fisheries council in the coming weeks.

Scottish fisheries minister Richard Lochhead said: “We are entering a crucial phase for Scotland’s fishing communities and fish stocks. Next week promises to be another extremely tough round of negotiations set against a very challenging economic backdrop.

“Efforts to rebuild cod stocks are likely to dominate. The Cod Recovery Plan has been difficult for Scottish fishermen and we continue to seek changes to the way the plan is implemented to allow our fleet to buy back days at sea in exchange for its trailblazing approach to conservation.

“If we can find a way of letting our fishermen land more of what they catch while reducing their overall fishing effort, we can reduce discards, reward our fleet and help conserve stocks.”

Category: Commercial