Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Annual Fisheries Negotiations: 19 October 2021 - 10 February 2022
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, to the Convener, 18 February 2022
Dear Finlay,
Annual Fisheries Negotiations: 19 October 2021 – 10 February 2022
I am writing to provide you with a report on the outcomes of the annual fisheries negotiations for 2022. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the negotiations were held in hybrid format, with a mixture of in-person and online meetings.
Coastal States negotiations
Negotiations began on 19 October 2021, with Coastal States convening for multi-party talks on three of our key pelagic stocks: mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring. Negotiations concluded with agreement on total catch limits for 2022, set in line with advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), resulting in ~ £186.5 million (~224,377 tonnes) of opportunities for Scotland, based on FQA shares and assuming status quo on overall UK/EU shares of the stocks.
The Agreed Records also reflect a commitment by all Parties to continue discussions as soon as possible in 2022 to agree new comprehensive sharing arrangements for these stocks, and to establish working groups which will help inform these discussions and promote evidence based decisions. Given the importance of these stocks, it is imperative that everything is done to ensure appropriate management. Establishing comprehensive sharing arrangements for all these stocks is a top priority for Scotland.
Talks on future sharing arrangements for these stocks reconvened on 07 February 2022 in Copenhagen, with three separate consultations being held over the course of the week, focusing on establishing evidence and developing work plans for the remainder of the year. The next rounds will be held from 14-16 March 2022. It is likely that a number of rounds will be required before any agreements can be found. I have instructed my officials to put full energy behind these talks to ensure the long term sustainability for the benefit of Scotland’s fishers into the future.
UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations
Trilateral talks between the UK, EU and Norway were conducted over multiple rounds beginning on 28 October 2021, and concluded with agreement and signing of an agreed record on 10 December 2021. The agreed record sets out Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and management measures for the North Sea stocks of whiting, plaice, saithe, cod, haddock and herring. There are increases in haddock, herring and whiting, which are welcomed in light of the decrease for saithe. The estimated value of the deal for Scotland is £97.02 million. A rollover TAC for cod has been agreed – a sensible yet rightly cautious management decision, which represents a sustainable and evidence-based balance between scientific and socio-economic considerations.
UK-EU bilateral negotiations
The UK EU bilateral started on 11 November 2021, running in parallel with the trilateral negotiations, and concluded on 21 December 2021. These consultations dealt with 83 TACs, the estimated value of which to Scotland is £148.6 million. The jointly-managed TACs in the written record have been set at sustainable levels, taking into account advice from ICES. In some cases, a TAC restraint has been applied to manage the large increases and decreases found in the scientific advice (which could negatively impact the industry and the markets). Where it has been applied, this incremental approach moves stocks closer to Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) while avoiding significant fluctuations in TACs which would be economically damaging.
The written record also underlined the importance of ongoing dialogue between the UK and EU on a number of issues, including quota transfers and technical measures. The Specialised Committee on Fisheries (SCF) is the forum for such discussions, and it is expected that a number of meetings of the SCF will take place in 2022. The Scottish Government remains committed to close engagement with the EU, and my officials will proactively participate in SCF discussions.
UK-Norway bilateral negotiations
I am pleased to say that this year we have managed to conclude a bilateral deal with Norway, a longstanding partner for us in the North Sea. The deal includes reciprocal access for demersal stocks. This will allow Scottish fishermen to fish their quota in Norwegian waters, giving them access to high market value haddock throughout the year. Reciprocal access is capped at 30,000 tonnes. This represents a positive step change from 2021, where no such agreement existed.
There is also a pelagic access arrangement covering North Sea herring and Atlanto-Scandian herring. The UK will receive 17,000 tonnes of Atlanto-Scandian herring access in Norwegian waters, in return for allowing fishing access for Norway in UK waters for the same tonnage of North Sea Herring.
On exchanges, the UK will receive additional quota for a number of key demersal stocks. The package for the UK is estimated to be worth £5.23 million and includes inward transfers of whiting, monkfish and hake.
UK-Faroe bilateral negotiations
I can also confirm that on 8 February an agreement on quota exchanges of fish stocks between the UK and the Faroe Islands for 2022 was reached. The deal agreed by the Parties includes quota exchanges worth an estimated value of more than £5 million to each Party (£3.4 million to Scotland). These exchanges will enable Scottish vessels to fish cod, haddock, saithe and other species in Faroese waters in 2022. Faroese vessels will be granted quota to fish stocks including western horse mackerel, Greenland halibut, ling and tusk, and western blue ling, in UK waters.
This will see Scotland receiving the highest return ever on record for Faroese stocks, and is based on a fair and balanced exchange. This provides additional opportunities and flexibility for Scottish industry, which is a welcome release valve when considered alongside challenging cuts to some of Scotland’s key whitefish quotas this year. This will have the advantage of enabling our larger whitefish vessels to divert effort from the west coast into Faroese waters, in turn putting less pressure in particular on cod as a result.
Our key priority throughout these negotiations has been to protect Scottish fishing interests and to get the best possible deal for Scotland. Representatives from the Scottish fishing industry were consulted and kept up to date throughout the whole negotiations process and able to give their input virtually through regular updates with Scottish officials.
I have attached a brief note summarising the negotiation’s main outcomes for the interest of the Committee.
I hope this information is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
MAIRI GOUGEON
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