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International fisheries management

What the government is doing to manage shared fisheries and fisheries beyond our national waters.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Published
9 December 2020
Last updated
18 December 2024 — See all updates

We work closely with our partners in the North East Atlantic and beyond to promote the sustainable management of international fisheries. We engage other coastal States both one-to-one (bilaterally) or in multilateral formats. This includes having a full and proactive role in:

  • coastal State negotiations on widely distributed stocks such as mackerel or blue whiting
  • Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO)
  • supranational organisations such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation

In all our international fisheries management work, our approach is guided by the legal framework set out in the Fisheries Act 2020. We work closely with the devolved administrations and our stakeholders across the UK in formulating our negotiating positions.

The governance framework

In establishing how we will operate as an independent coastal State in respect of shared fisheries interests, the UK has negotiated Fisheries Framework Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding with other North Atlantic coastal States.

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)

A further key part of the governance framework we operate within is our membership of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. These are regional organisations responsible for the management of fish stocks distributed in high seas areas (outside of national waters) and for highly migratory fish stocks. The UK is a currently a contracting party to 5 RFMOs:

Fisheries Framework Agreements

Our Fisheries Framework Agreements provide a legal framework for direct cooperation between the UK and other coastal States on sustainable fisheries management. The UK has such agreements in place with Norway and with the Faroe Islands.

These agreements provide a framework in which we conduct annual negotiations on possible access to each other’s waters and the transfers of quotas between the parties. The results of each year’s negotiations are documented in Agreed Records and then transposed into UK legislation.

The Fisheries Framework Agreement between the UK and the EU is outlined in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The results of UK EU annual negotiations are documented in a Written Record and then transposed into UK legislation.

Memoranda of Understanding

Our Memoranda of Understanding on fisheries with Iceland and Greenland acknowledge our common fisheries management goals and interests and provide a framework for our future cooperation and dialogue.

Annual negotiations

The outcomes of each year’s negotiations on Total Allowable Catches and other management measures are usually documented in Agreed and Written Records and then transposed into UK legislation.

Blue whiting, herring and mackerel management in the North East Atlantic

Updates to this page

Published 9 December 2020
Last updated 18 December 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added ‘Fisheries: bilateral agreement with Norway for 2025’.

  2. Added ‘Fisheries: consultations between the UK and the EU for 2025’.

  3. Added 'Fisheries: consultations between the EU, Norway and the UK for 2025’.

  4. Added the 'Fisheries: bilateral agreement with the Faroe Islands for 2024'.

  5. The fisheries bilateral agreement with Norway for 2024 has been added.

  6. 2024 agreed records and distribution reports have been added.

  7. Added 'Fisheries: bilateral agreement with the Faroe Islands for 2023' to the annual negotiations section.

  8. Added 'Fisheries: bilateral agreement with Norway for 2023' to 'Annual negotiations'.

  9. Added 'Fisheries: blue whiting, herring and mackerel management in the North East Atlantic for 2023'.

  10. Added a link to the Fisheries: bilateral agreement with the Faroe Islands for 2022.

  11. Added a link to the 'Fisheries: cooperation between the UK and Norway' document.

  12. Added the written record of the annual fisheries consultations between the UK and the EU for 2022.

  13. Added the ‘fisheries: blue whiting, herring and mackerel management in the North East Atlantic for 2022’ page to the annual negotiations section.

  14. Added the written record of the annual fisheries consultations between the UK and the EU in 2021.

  15. Added information about cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring management in the North Sea under the 'Annual negotiations' heading.

  16. First published.

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