Research and analysis

Economic outcomes of annual negotiations for UK fishing opportunities in 2025

Published 19 March 2025

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Executive summary

The UK participates in fisheries negotiations each year to agree total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for fish stocks shared with other coastal States.

In December 2024, negotiations concluded setting fishing opportunities for the 2025 fishing year across 3 key negotiating forums. This report summarises the outcomes of these negotiations. They are:

  • UK-EU bilateral negotiations
  • UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations
  • Coastal State negotiations

These negotiations provided the UK with approximately 747,000 tonnes in quota, estimated to be worth around £956 million. These figures are inclusive of quota transfers agreed with Norway and the Faroe Islands. This represents a 38,000 decrease in tonnage from 2024, and an £9 million decrease in value of fishing opportunities.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also pursues policy outcomes such as the sustainability of fisheries. An assessment of the sustainability of these outcomes is provided in the independent report ‘Assessing the sustainability of negotiated fisheries catch limits for the UK for 2025’.

UK quota from other sources, including quota exchange agreements with Norway and the Faroe Islands, is assessed in the section ‘Other UK Quota’ to provide a full overview of the fishing opportunities available to the UK fleet. A full TAC list and data table is provided in Annex 2.

Methodology and caveats

UK quota is the UK’s share of each total allowable catch (TAC). The UK quota presented in this report is in line with the Secretary of State’s determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats[footnote 1].This means that the figures:

  • cover both allocated and unallocated quota
  • are pre-TAC deductions made for discard exemptions[footnote 2]
  • account for the quota transfers agreed with third countries before this publication, such as Norway and the Faroe Islands
  • do not account for any adjustments such as banking/borrowing, or in-year quota exchanges[footnote 3]

This report only covers fish stocks subject to quota management and therefore does not include non-quota stocks. Nor does it deal with access arrangements.

This report summarises the fishing opportunities available to the UK fleet as a result of agreements made in annual negotiations. It does not attempt to predict how much of each of the quotas will be utilised, as fishing quota uptake often varies each year and depends on a wide range of factors that are difficult to accurately forecast, such as weather and fishing capacity. However, an estimate using UK average historic uptake is provided in the summary section for context.

Estimated value is included to provide context to the quota tonnages. The average UK landing price for each TAC in 2023 is used to estimate the potential value of the available fishing opportunities. Where UK TAC-specific values are not available, UK average species level values have been used to estimate fishing opportunities[footnote 4].

In cases where 2023 prices were unavailable, historic prices or the price of a comparable TAC have been used as an alternative. Prices are nominal and in pound sterling at the first point of sale. Consistent prices are applied across each year to allow for a direct year-on-year comparison of negotiated outcomes, avoiding accounting for price fluctuations due to other factors external to the negotiations. This means that, for example, 100 tonnes of mackerel quota for the UK in 2024 is assumed to have the same potential economic value as 100 tonnes in 2025. This analysis is limited to estimating the potential value of the agreed quota and does not assess any wider economic benefits.

Comparisons are drawn against the outcomes of negotiations for 2020 fishing opportunities. In 2020, as an EU Member State, the UK’s quota shares were mainly based on the EU’s relative stability sharing mechanism[footnote 5]. The UK also participated in the EU’s quota transfer deals with countries such as Norway, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. From 2021 the UK’s quota shares have been based on the new quota sharing arrangement agreed in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (UK-EU TCA)[footnote 6], with the UK being independent from the EU’s quota transfer deals.

Estimates of the quota that the UK might have expected to receive in each year since 2021 had the UK remained as an EU Member State are also provided. These are based on the shares of the TACs that the UK received in 2020, which take into account invocations of the Hague Preference[footnote 7], and the EU’s quota transfer deals in that year.

The ‘Quota allocations’ section provides an assessment of the final quota allocated in 2024, following deductions made for discard exemptions. This assessment is not yet available for 2025 as quota allocations have not been finalised. Fishing quota allocations are routinely finalised in the spring.

This report is categorised in terms of the negotiation forum where each TAC is set. This means that there are some minor differences between this and the categorisation in the Secretary of State’s determination. For example, Atlanto-Scandian herring is included under ‘Stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the United Kingdom and the European Union’ in the determination. However, because in practice this TAC is set at coastal State negotiations, it is included in the coastal States total here. There is also a minor difference between the stock lists used here and in sustainability reporting because the latter combines the 2 TACs agreed for mackerel, and the 2 TACs agreed for North Sea herring.

All figures are shown rounded. This means that there may be some instances where figures do not sum precisely to the overall totals shown.

Negotiated outcomes

Summary

The UK agrees TACs and other fisheries management measures across a number of negotiation forums. The UK-EU bilateral, UK-EU-Norway trilateral, and coastal State negotiations together involved 88 TACs.

These negotiations provided the UK with approximately 747,000 tonnes in quota, estimated to be worth around £956 million. These figures are inclusive of quota transfers agreed with Norway and the Faroe Islands.

Across these 3 negotiations, there was a decrease in UK quota available between 2024 and 2025, with a 38,000 fall in tonnage (-5%) and a £9 million decrease in value (-1%).

Table 1: UK quota from UK-EU, trilateral, and coastal State negotiations

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 785,000 747,000 -5%
UK quota value (£) £965 million £956 million -1%

For each individual UK quota, there are several reasons why the tonnage available may change between years, primarily:

  • a change agreed for the overall total allowable catch (TAC)
  • a change in the UK’s share of the TAC, for example, in accordance with the quota share uplifts agreed in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)
  • a quota transfer agreement with a third country, for example, Norway or the Faroe Islands

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the pattern of change in tonnes and value across each of the 3 main negotiation forums between 2024 and 2025. They show that the quota available from the UK-EU negotiations in 2025 was higher than 2024, whilst quota available from the coastal State negotiations was lower compared to 2024.

There was a small increase in quota available from the UK-EU-Norway negotiations from 2024 to 2025. The coastal State negotiations provided the largest quota tonnage for the UK in both 2024 and 2025, due to the high-tonnage pelagic TACs negotiated here, such as mackerel.

The coastal State negotiations provided the highest estimated value in 2024, whereas in 2025 the EU-UK negotiations offered the greatest estimated value. This can be attributed to a decrease in mackerel opportunities in coastal State negotiations and an overall rise in high-value EU-UK stocks, such as anglerfish.

A more detailed breakdown of the data and explanation of these patterns for each negotiation forum is provided in the sections below.

Figure 1: Total UK quota (tonnes) across the three main negotiation forums in 2024 and 2025

Negotiation forums 2024 2025
EU-UK 134,000 150,000
EU-UK-Norway 286,000 288,000
Coastal States 365,000 309,000

Figure 2: Total UK quota (estimated value) across the 3 main negotiation forums in 2024 and 2025

Negotiation forums 2024 2025
EU-UK £327m £373m
EU-UK-Norway £301m £311m
Coastal States £337m £272m

Comparison against UK’s shares as an EU member State

Since leaving the EU, the UK now has a larger share of many of the TACs set at these negotiations. This means that TAC cuts are reduced, and TAC increases are heightened, as the UK receives a larger share of the total.

The quota shares that the UK received in 2020 are used to generate an estimate of how much quota the UK might have received from these 3 negotiations had it remained as an EU member State in each year[footnote 8].

Based on these previous shares, it is estimated that the UK might have received around 603,000 tonnes in 2025 (estimated to be worth around £780 million), in comparison to the 747,000 tonnes actually received. This uplift is estimated to be worth around £176 million.

This uplift is comprised of several different quotas, with some of the largest contributors being Western mackerel and North Sea herring. Read Annex 1 and the Marine Management Organisation’s Analysis of fishing quota shares in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Figure 3 illustrates the proportion of the UK’s overall quota value from these 3 negotiations since 2021 that is estimated to be due to these uplifts.

It shows that since 2021, the UK quota share uplift has gradually increased.

Year   Previous UK shares (£ million)   Quota share uplift (£ million) Total
2021 773 113 886
2022 738 112 850
2023 743 156 899
2024 792 173 965
2025 780 176 956

It displays that since 2021, the UK quota share uplift has gradually increased.

Adjusting for historic uptake

The figures above represent the full quota available to the UK fleet from these negotiations. In a given year, it is difficult to accurately predict how much of each quota will be fished, as this is dependent on a wide range of factors such as weather, fishing capacity, and the availability of by-catch quota.

However, to provide context, the historic percentage uptake of each of the quotas between 2019 and 2023 is used to calculate an approximation[footnote 9]. This may not be accurate for a variety of reasons, for example, if the current size of the quota is smaller or larger than in the past. This also does not account for any banking, borrowing, or swapping of quota. In reality, the true landing figures could be higher or lower.

In 2025, based on historic uptake percentages, we might expect around 623,000 tonnes of the 747,000 tonnes of quota across the 3 main negotiating forums to be utilised, with a value of around £754 million.

UK-EU bilateral negotiations

Through UK-EU bilateral negotiations, 73 TACs were set for the 2025 fishing year.

These 73 TACs provided around 150,000 tonnes of UK quota, with an estimated value of £373 million. These figures are net of quota transfers agreed with Norway and the Faroe Islands.

Table 2: UK quota from UK-EU negotiations

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 134,000 150,000 +12%
UK quota value (£) £327 million £373 million +14%

UK quota saw a 12% increase in tonnage and a 14% rise in value compared to 2024.

Despite an overall increase in UK quota, most individual TACs were lower or the same in 2025 compared to 2024. 19 TACs (26%) were increased, 37 TACs (51%) decreased and 17 TACs (23%) were set at the same tonnage. The rise in quota is primarily due to large TAC increases in North Sea anglerfish and Rockall haddock outweighing several small TAC decreases compared to 2024.

The UK’s largest absolute quota tonnage uplifts compared to the previous year were in:

  • North Sea anglerfish (+11,158 tonnes)
  • Rockall haddock (+5,214 tonnes)
  • Western horse mackerel (+4,880 tonnes)
  • West of Scotland anglerfish (+3,169 tonnes)
  • English Channel sprat (+2,404 tonnes)

These uplifts were primarily driven by TAC increases following International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) advice that the stocks can support a higher level of landings for 2025.

The UK’s largest absolute falls in quota tonnage were in:

  • North Sea nephrops (-4,665 tonnes)
  • Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel horse mackerel (-3,281 tonnes)
  • North Sea sprat (-2,131 tonnes)
  • North Sea Norway pout (-1,958 tonnes)
  • Irish Sea herring (-1,890 tonnes)
  • Western hake (-1,595 tonnes)

These were mainly driven by reductions in the agreed TACs, resulting in a corresponding fall in UK quota that could not be offset by increased TCA shares in comparison to 2024.

The UK and EU also agreed fishing opportunities for non-quota stocks. These outcomes are not within the scope of this publication.

UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations

There are 11 TACs of direct interest to the UK set through these negotiations.

For 2025, these 11 TACs provided around 289,000 tonnes of UK quota, estimated to be worth approximately £311 million.

Table 3: UK quota from UK-EU-Norway negotiations

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 286,000 288,000 +1%
UK quota value (£) £301 million £311 million +3%

Of the 11 TACs set in this forum, 4 were set higher in 2025 than in 2024, one was unchanged and 6 were set lower. This led to a marginal increase of UK quota in tonnage and value compared to the previous year.

The largest tonnage and value increase was in North Sea whiting (+24,423 tonnes, +£24 million). This was driven by a TAC increase compared to 2024. The largest decrease was in North Sea herring by both tonnage (-21,766 tonnes) and value (-£14 million).

Coastal State negotiations

Four TACs of direct interest to the UK are set through these negotiations. These were mackerel, blue whiting, and Norwegian spring spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) herring (NSSH/ASH).

For 2025, these 4 TACs provided around 309,000 tonnes of UK quota[footnote 10], estimated to be worth approximately £272 million.

The most significant component of this in terms of the tonnage and value was mackerel with 187,000 tonnes, worth £237 million.

Table 4: UK quota from coastal State negotiations

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 365,000 309,000 -15%
UK quota value (£) £337 million £272 million -19%

The TACs for mackerel and blue whiting were reduced in 2025 compared to 2024, and the TAC for NSSH/ASH was increased. Overall, this resulted in a 15% tonnage and 19% value decrease compared to 2024, largely attributable to the decrease in mackerel quota.

Total UK quota from all sources

The UK also holds quota in a number of TACs that are not negotiated at the 3 forums covered above. The following section summarises these to provide a full overview of UK quota in 2025.

In total, for the 2025 fishing year, the UK had around 769,000 tonnes of quota from the three main negotiation forums and other sources summarised below. This is estimated to be worth approximately £1.04 billion.

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)

The Secretary of State’s determination records UK quota for TACs managed through 3 Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs): the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the North West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), and the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC).

The UK secured shares in 4 Atlantic TACs managed through ICCAT (albacore tuna, bluefin tuna, blue shark, and swordfish) in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement[footnote 11]. In 2025, this translated to around 750 tonnes of UK quota, estimated to be worth approximately £2.1 million.

In 2025, the UK has around 1,200 tonnes of cod quota in area 3M through NAFO, estimated to be worth approximately £3.3 million. In the 2025 negotiations, a new quota through NAFO was agreed with the reopening of the fishery for cod in area 3L[footnote 12]. This provided an additional 19 tonnes of fishing opportunities for 2025, which was transferred to the Faroe Islands in exchange for North Sea stocks.

In 2024, the UK had 856 tonnes of redfish quota in the NEAFC regulatory area[footnote 13], estimated to be worth approximately £1.5 million. The UK will set a quota for redfish in the NEAFC regulatory area in 2025, which will be confirmed in the Secretary of State’s determination ahead of the fishery opening in July. The large percentage decreases in tonnage and value between 2024 and 2025 displayed in the table below are entirely driven by the quota for redfish not having been set for 2025 yet.

Table 5: Total UK quota from RFMO negotiations

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 2,699 1,928 -29%
UK quota value (£) £6.7 million £5.4 million -19%

Stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the UK or the EU

There are several stocks that are present in either UK or EU waters, but not in both, for which the other party to the UK-EU TCA nevertheless holds a share. For example, ling in Area 5. In these cases, the party in whose waters the stock occurs is responsible for setting the TAC and notifying the other of their quota. There are also stocks, such as Clyde herring, which is exclusive to the UK and for which the UK holds 100% of the quota[footnote 14].

In 2025, these stocks provide around 13,500 tonnes of UK quota, estimated to be worth approximately £63 million. This excludes 360 tonnes of North Sea and West of Scotland Greenland halibut transferred to Norway and 700 tonnes transferred to the Faroe Islands.

Over 95% of this value is due to one stock that is present in UK waters only: West of Scotland nephrops (£62.8 million). A TAC increase in this stock for 2025 drove the overall increases in value and tonnage shown in the table below.

Table 6: UK quota outcomes across stocks present in only one of UK / EU waters

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 13,900 13,500 -2%
UK quota value (£) £62 million £63 million +2%

Quota under the Treaty of Paris

The UK has access to fishing opportunities in the waters around Svalbard through the Treaty of Paris[footnote 15].

In 2025, these opportunities included 3,075 tonnes of Atlantic cod (Svalbard) allocated by Norway, estimated to be worth approximately £7 million.

Table 7: UK quota outcomes under the Treaty of Paris

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 4,144 3,075 -26%
UK quota value (£) £10 million £7 million -26%

Quota from transfers with countries other than the EU

The UK concluded bilateral negotiations with Norway having agreed a quota exchange deal for the 2025 fishing year in December 2024[footnote 16]. Negotiations with the Faroes Islands for some stocks concluded in December 2024[footnote 17], whilst other negotiations with the Faroe Islands for the 2025 fishing year concluded in March 2025. The UK also has multi annual deals with Norway and the Faroe Islands for the transfer of North-East Atlantic mackerel.

The deal with Norway included inward quota transfers for the UK of Northeast Arctic cod and Northeast Arctic haddock. These inward transfers are estimated to be worth around £3.3 million in value to the UK. The UK transferred out primarily Western ling, Western tusk and Greenland halibut in exchange, with outward transfers valued at around £2.4 million.

The deal with the Faroe Islands in December 2024 agreed inward transfers for the UK of 190 tonnes of North-East Atlantic mackerel in return for 375 tonnes of Autumn Spawning Herring. The March 2025 deal included inward quota transfers of primarily cod, haddock and saithe worth an estimated £4.8 million. The UK transferred out primarily Greenland halibut, Western blue ling and haddock, with outward transfers valued at £2.7 million.

Multi-annual arrangements for North-East Atlantic mackerel were agreed in June 2024 with Norway[footnote 18] and the Faroe Islands[footnote 19]. For 2025, this means the UK will receive an inward transfer of mackerel from Norway (18,463 tonnes) and the Faroes Islands (7,978 tonnes), worth up to £33 million based on historic landing prices. Access arrangements were also agreed but are out of scope of this report.

The table below summarises the transfers of quota in third country waters only. This does not include transfers of quotas in the North Sea because these are already accounted for in the sections above, in the forums where those TACs are set. For 2025, transfers with Norway and the Faroe Islands provided 3,100 tonnes of quota, worth an estimated £7.9 million of fishing opportunities.

Table 8: UK quota from transfers with Norway and the Faroe Islands

2024 2025 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 3,700 3,100 -17%
UK quota value (£) £9.9 million £7.9 million -20%

The UK quota decrease from Norway and the Faroe Islands in 2025 compared to 2024 is primarily driven by a removal of anglerfish transfers, largely due to the UK seeing a significant increase in North Sea and West of Scotland anglerfish quota in EU-UK negotiations. 

Quota allocations

Quota allocations have not yet been finalised for 2025, so this assessment is available for 2024 only[footnote 20].

After TAC deductions for discard exemptions were applied, and excluding unallocated quota, around 794,000 tonnes of quota were allocated to UK vessels in 2024, estimated to be worth approximately £1.04 billion.

During the allocation process, this quota was split into ‘existing quota’ (quota the UK would have expected to receive as an EU member state), and ‘additional quota’ (quota received as a result of the quota share uplifts agreed in the UK-EU TCA)[footnote 21]. The below table shows the tonnage and estimated value split between these 2 categories in 2024.

Table 9: Existing vs. additional quota in 2024

Total allocated quota Existing quota Additional quota Additional quota as % of total allocated quota
UK quota (tonnes) 794,000 667,000 127,000 16%
UK quota value (£) £1.04 billion £873 million £164 million 16%

Pelagic stocks comprised the majority (83%) of the additional quota tonnage in 2024. This was driven by the UK’s quota share uplift agreed for mackerel, which provided the largest amount of additional quota overall in terms of tonnage (around 63,000 tonnes) compounded with the substantial mid-year mackerel transfer from Norway[footnote 22] and the Faroe Islands[footnote 23] in 2024.

Additional quota was apportioned between the 4 UK fisheries administrations using a hybrid approach. First, for stocks which the UK regularly used to swap in prior to the EU referendum, additional quota is apportioned to the Fisheries administrations with a track record of landing it.

For the remaining quota, 90% is apportioned based on the previous track record of fishing activity in each nation, and 10% was apportioned on the principle of zonal attachment (which reflects the geographical areas where fish are present in UK waters). There were also some exceptions made for Wales, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.

Table 10: Additional quota per Fisheries Administration in 2024
England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
UK quota (tonnes) 26,900 9,400 90,200 400
% Of total tonnes 21% 7% 71% <1%
UK quota value (£) £43 million £12 million £107 million £1 million
% Of total value 26% 8% 65% 1%

This table shows that most of the additional quota tonnage was apportioned to Scotland (71%), whereas England received a relatively higher proportion of the additional quota value (26%). This is primarily due to Scotland’s share of high-tonnage pelagic quotas, and England’s share of high-value demersal quotas.

For context on the size of the fleets in each fisheries administration, England contributes the highest number of vessels to the UK fleet (48%), but Scotland’s fleet has more capacity (61%)[footnote 24]. Around 46% of UK fishers worked onboard English vessels and 40% on Scottish vessels. The remaining 14% are split 8% for Northern Irish vessels and 6% for Welsh vessels[footnote 25].

Annex 1: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

On 30 December 2020, the UK and the EU signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)[footnote 26], which included agreement on the management of UK-EU fish stocks following the UK’s departure from the EU and the end of the transition period.

The TCA includes agreed quota shares for over 100 fish stocks. Many of the UK’s shares will increase gradually over a 5-year period, with the highest uplifts in a single year received in 2021.

Comparison of figures

The full quota share uplifts (by 2026) secured in the TCA were estimated to be worth around £146 million.

This figure was calculated using the full stock list negotiated in the TCA and estimates the difference between the UK’s Relative Stability shares and UK’s final shares in 2026, assuming 2020 TACs, and 2018 UK average prices. For more detail, read the Marine Management Organisation’s Analysis of fishing quota shares in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Although similar, this is not directly comparable to the figures in this report. This is because the figures in this report are calculated using the stock list for each annual negotiation forum, which are subsets of the stock list negotiated in the TCA. They also use the UK’s agreed shares for 2025 (rather than 2026) and are based on different TACs (those agreed at annual negotiations for 2025), and more recent UK average prices (2023).

Annex 2: TAC categories

In practice, there are some minor differences between the categorisation of TACs in the Secretary of State’s determination[footnote 27] (based on which parties share the TACs, following the annexes in the Trade & Cooperation Agreement), and the categorisation of TACs in this report (based on which negotiation forum sets the relevant TAC).

Explanation of how these categories fit with one another is provided below, as well as a data table.

UK-EU

There are 79 UK-EU shared TACs.

Three of these are shared only between the UK and the EU but in practice are dependent on TACs decided at the UK-EU-Norway negotiations. These TACs are therefore included in the UK-EU-Norway section below: cod (Eastern Channel), haddock (West of Scotland), saithe (West of Scotland).

Three TACs are excluded from this report:

  • 1 TAC is prohibited: Deep-sea sharks (Western). No quota has been set for this TAC.
  • 1 TAC is an ‘of which’ provision of another TAC and is excluded to avoid double counting: Nephrops (Porcupine Bank)
  • 1 TAC is set in-year and did not have an agreed TAC at the time of negotiations concluding: Sandeels (North Sea)[footnote 28]

Consequently, 73 UK-EU TACs are covered in this report.

UK-EU-Norway

There are 8 UK-EU-Norway shared TACs.

Including the 3 TACs mentioned above means that 11 UK-EU-Norway TACs are covered in this report.

Coastal States

There are 3 coastal State TACs: mackerel (North Sea), mackerel (western), and blue whiting (northern).

The TAC for Atlanto-Scandian herring (ASH) is included in the section ‘stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the United Kingdom and the European Union’ in the Secretary of State’s determination, however in practice is agreed at the coastal State negotiations.

Therefore, 4 coastal State TACs are covered in this report.

Overall, this gives 88 TACs (73 + 11 + 4) across the UK’s annual fisheries consultations for 2025.

Other sources of UK quota

The UK also receives quota from other TACs.

The UK receives quota through 3 Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs):

  • The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO)
  • the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
  • the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)

There are 8 TACs in this category.

The UK has access to fishing opportunities in the waters around Svalbard under the Treaty of Paris. The UK is not involved in setting the TAC for this stock. Atlantic cod (Svalbard) is the only TAC in this category.

There are a number of stocks where the UK or EU alone set the TAC (such as Clyde herring and skates and rays (8,9)). There are 9 TACs in this category.

The UK may receive quota transfers through agreements with third countries such as Norway and the Faroe Islands. The UK has agreed to quota transfers with Norway and the Faroe Islands for 2025.

TAC list and UK quota data

The tables below align with the annexes in the Secretary of States determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats. The third column indicates which negotiation category these TACs fall into in this report, as detailed above.

UK quota tonnages for 2024 and 2025, as well as the percentage change between years, are also shown.

Annex Table 1: United Kingdom-European Union bilateral stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
ALF/3X14- Alfonsinos (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,14) UK-EU 5 5 0%
ANF/07. Anglerfish (7) UK-EU 11,056 11,119 +1%
ANF/2AC4-C Anglerfish (North Sea) UK-EU 6,408 17,566 +174%
ANF/56-14 Anglerfish (West of Scotland) UK-EU 1,772 4,941 +179%
ARU/1/2. Greater Silver Smelt (1,2) UK-EU 24 41 +71%
ARU/3A4-C Greater Silver Smelt (North Sea) UK-EU 12 21 +75%
ARU/567. Greater Silver Smelt (Western) UK-EU 469 503 +7%
BLI/12INT- Blue Ling (International 12) UK-EU 1 0 -100%
BLI/24- Blue Ling (North Sea) UK-EU 26[footnote 29] 6 -77%
BLI/5B67- Blue Ling (Western) UK-EU 2,343[footnote 30] 2,490[footnote 31] +6%
BLL/7DE Brill (7de) UK-EU 281 340 +21%
BOR/678- Boarfish (Western) UK-EU 1,739 2,436 +40%
BSF/56712- Black Scabbardfish (Western) UK-EU 78 78 0%
COD/07A. Cod (Irish Sea) UK-EU 74 74 0%
COD/07D. Cod (Eastern Channel) UK-EU-Norway 134 107 -20%
COD/5BE6A Cod (West of Scotland) UK-EU 1,069[footnote 32] 885[footnote 33] -17%
COD/5W6-14 Cod (Rockall) UK-EU 54 56 +4%
COD/7XAD34 Cod (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 65 66 +2%
DGS/15X14 Spurdog (Western) UK-EU 5,089 6,461 +27%
DGS/2AC4-C Spurdog (North Sea) UK-EU 2,862 3,576 +25%
HAD/07A. Haddock (Irish Sea) UK-EU 1,253 1,060 -15%
HAD/5BC6A. Haddock (West of Scotland) UK-EU-Norway 9,110 8,610 -5%
HAD/6B1214 Haddock (Rockall) UK-EU 3,452 8,666 +151%
HAD/7X7A34 Haddock (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 1,584 1,271 -20%
HER/07A/MM Herring (Irish Sea) UK-EU 7,061 5,171 -27%
HER/5B6ANB Herring (West of Scotland) UK-EU 959 1,160 +21%
HER/7EF. Herring (Western Channel and Bristol Channel) UK-EU 223 179 -20%
HER/7G-K. Herring (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 1 1 0%
HKE/2AC4-C Hake (North Sea) UK-EU 1,281 1,082 -16%
HKE/571214 Hake (Western) UK-EU 8,351 6,756 -19%
JAX/2A-14 Horse Mackerel (Western) UK-EU 1,244 6,124 +392%
JAX/4BC7D Horse Mackerel (Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel) UK-EU 3,669 388 -89%
L/W/2AC4-C Lemon Sole and Witch (North Sea) UK-EU 1,666 1,470 -12%
LEM/07D Lemon Sole (7d) UK-EU 29 20 -31%
LEZ/07. Megrims (7) UK-EU 4,604 4,306 -6%
LEZ/2AC4-C Megrims (North Sea) UK-EU 2,874 2,787 -3%
LEZ/56-14 Megrims (West of Scotland) UK-EU 2,611 2,593 -1%
LIN/04-C. Ling (North Sea) UK-EU 1,807[footnote 34] 1,813 0%
LIN/6X14. Ling (Western) UK-EU 3,109[footnote 35] 3,485[footnote 36] +12%
NEP/07. Nephrops (7) UK-EU 7,799 7,009 -10%
NEP/2AC4-C Nephrops (North Sea) UK-EU 18,350 13,685 -25%
NOP/2A3A4. Norway Pout (North Sea) UK-EU (mid-year) 2,058[footnote 37] 100[footnote 38] -95%
PLE/07A. Plaice (Irish Sea) UK-EU 972 769 -21%
PLE/56-14 Plaice (West of Scotland) UK-EU 360 360 0%
PLE/7DE. Plaice (English Channel) UK-EU 1,176 1,177 0%
PLE/7FG. Plaice (7fg) UK-EU 105 30 -71%
PLE/7HJK. Plaice (7hjk) UK-EU 23 23 0%
POK/56-14 Saithe (West of Scotland) UK-EU-Norway 2,954[footnote 39] 3,791 +28%
POK/7/3411 Saithe (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 229 183 -20%
POL/07. Pollack (7) UK-EU 203 172 -15%
POL/56-14 Pollack (West of Scotland) UK-EU 24[footnote 40] 24[footnote 41] 0%
PRA/2AC4-C Northern Prawn (North Sea) UK-EU 218 0[footnote 42] -100%
RJE/7FG. Small-eyed Ray (7fg) UK-EU 46 57 +24%
RJU/7DE. Undulate Ray (English Channel) UK-EU 1,358 1,324 -3%
RNG/5B67- Roundnose Grenadier (Western) UK-EU 80 64 -20%
RNG/8X14- Roundnose Grenadier (8,9,10,12,14) UK-EU 6 5 -17%
SAN/2A3A4. Sandeel (North Sea, All Banks) UK-EU (mid-year) N/A N/A N/A
SBR/678- Red Seabream (Western) UK-EU 11 11 0%
SOL/07A. Sole (Irish Sea) UK-EU 145 142 -2%
SOL/07D. Sole (Eastern Channel) UK-EU 300 242 -19%
SOL/07E. Sole (Western Channel) UK-EU 737 719 -2%
SOL/24-C. Sole (North Sea) UK-EU 587 1,700 +190%
SOL/56-14 Sole (West of Scotland) UK-EU 11 11 0%
SOL/7FG. Sole (7fg) UK-EU 405 371 -8%
SOL/7HJK. Sole (7hjk) UK-EU 28 28 0%
SPR/2AC4-C Sprat (North Sea) UK-EU (mid-year) 4,482[footnote 43] 2,351[footnote 44] -48%
SPR/7DE. Sprat (English Channel) UK-EU (mid-year) 1,940[footnote 45] 4,344[footnote 46] +124%
SRX/07D. Skates and Rays (Eastern Channel) UK-EU 427 424 -1%
SRX/2AC4-C Skates and Rays (North Sea) UK-EU 2,195 2,186 0%
SRX/67AKXD Skates and Rays (Western) UK-EU 2,985 2,924 -2%
T/B/2AC4-C Turbot and Brill (North Sea) UK-EU 708 861 +22%
USK/04-C. Tusk (North Sea) UK-EU 84 84 0%
USK/567EI. Tusk (Western) UK-EU 1,597[footnote 47] 1,857[footnote 48] +16%
WHG/07A. Whiting (Irish Sea) UK-EU 435 440 +1%
WHG/56-14 Whiting (West of Scotland) UK-EU 2,063 3,264 +58%
WHG/7X7A-C Whiting (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 2,663 3,648 +37%

Annex Table 2: United Kingdom-European Union-Norway trilateral stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
COD/2A3AX4 Cod (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 11,613 9,419 -19%
HAD/2AC4. Haddock (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 64,925[footnote 49] 61,928[footnote 50] -5%
HER/2A47DX Herring (North Sea bycatch) UK-EU-Norway 140 140 0%
HER/4AB. Herring (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 96,736 74,970[footnote 51] -23%
HER/4CXB7D Herring (Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel) UK-EU-Norway 6,809 5,278 -22%
PLE/2A3AX4 Plaice (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 36,109 41,228 +14%
POK/2C3A4 Saithe (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 8,105 8,940 +10%
WHG/2AC4. Whiting (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 49,607 74,030 +49%

Annex Table 3: Coastal States stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
MAC/2A34. Mackerel (North Sea) Coastal States 1,816[footnote 52] 1,415[footnote 53] -22%
MAC/2CX14- Mackerel (Western) Coastal States 235,037[footnote 54] 185,594[footnote 55] -21%
WHB/1X14 Blue Whiting (Northern) Coastal States 120,163 114,157 -5%

Annex Table 4: United Kingdom-Norway stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
COD/1N2AB. Arcto-Norwegian Cod Transfer (Norway) 700 1000 +43%
ANF/04-N. Anglerfish (Norway) Transfer (Norway) 700 0 -100%

Annex Table 5: United Kingdom-Faroe Island stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
C/H/05B-F. Cod and Haddock (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 920 880 -4%
POK/05B-F. Saithe (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 600 575 -4%
RED/05B-F. Redfish (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 10 10 0%
B/L/05B-F. Blue Ling and Ling (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 180 160 -11%
FLX/05B-F. Flatfish (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 40 40 0%
OTH/05B-F. Other Species (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 475 425 -11%

Annex Table 6: ICCAT Convention Area stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
ALB/AN05N Albacore (North Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 663 663 0%
BFT/AE45WM Bluefin Tuna (Northeast Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 63 63 0%
BSH/AN05N Blue Shark (North Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 25 25 0%
SWO/AN05N Swordfish (North Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 1 1 0%

Annex Table 7: NAFO Convention Area stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
COD/N3M. Cod (NAFO 3M) RFMO (NAFO) 1,091 1,176 +8%
COD/3L Cod (NAFO 2J3KL) RFMO (NAFO) 0 0[footnote 56] 0%

Annex Table 8: Stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the United Kingdom and the European Union

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
GHL/2A-C46 Greenland Halibut (North Sea and West of Scotland) UK to set TAC 418[footnote 57] 191[footnote 58] -54%
HER/06ACL. Herring (Clyde) UK to set TAC 583 N/A[footnote 59] N/A
HER/4C_BW Herring (Blackwater) UK to set TAC (mid-year) 10 10 0%
HER/1/2- Herring (ASH) Coastal States 7,617 7,847 +3%
LIN/05EI. Ling (5) UK to set TAC 1 1 0%
LIN/1/2. Ling (1,2) UK to set TAC 7 7 0%
NEP/5BC6. Nephrops (West of Scotland) UK to set TAC 12,831 13,315 +4%
SBR/10- Red Seabream (Azores) EU to set TAC 5 4 -20%
SRX/89-C. Skates and Rays (8,9) EU to set TAC 12 13 +8%
USK/1214EI Tusk (1,2,14) UK to set TAC 5 5 0%

Annex Table 9: Special cases

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
COD/1/2B. Cod (Svalbard) Quota under the Treaty of Paris 4,144 3,075 -26%
RED/1/2INT Redfish (International 1,2) NEAFC 856 N/A[footnote 60] N/A

  1. Fishing opportunities for British fishing boats: determinations published in 2025 - GOV.UK ↩

  2. For example, see 2024 deductions here: Fishing quota allocations for England and the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩

  3. UK and England quota management rules - GOV.UK ↩

  4. UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2023 - GOV.UK – Average £ per tonne is calculated for each UK quota using live weight landing tonnage and landed value at the first point of sale; see data table ‘UK fleet landings by rectangle stock port and EEZ 2019 - 2023’. ↩

  5. Relative stability is the mechanism by which TACs are shared between EU Member States under the Common Fisheries Policy. Each Member State receives a set percentage of the EU’s total quota in each stock. ↩

  6. UK/EU and EAEC: Trade and Cooperation Agreement [TS No.8/2021] - GOV.UK ↩

  7. The Hague Preference is a mechanism under the Common Fisheries Policy designed to adjust fishing quota allocations for the UK and the Republic of Ireland when certain TACs fell below determined trigger levels. ↩

  8. 2020 is used as the UK’s final year as an EU Member State. This share is primarily based on the relative stability sharing mechanism, but also includes invocations of the Hague Preference in that year, as well as contribution to/benefit from the EU’s quota transfer agreements with countries such as Norway. ↩

  9. UK landings for each year between 2019 and 2023 (UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2023 - GOV.UK taken as a percentage of the quota available at the start of that year, and applied to the 2025 opening UK quotas. ↩

  10. UK mackerel quota figures taken from third country transfers and Fisheries: consultations between the UK and the EU for 2025 - GOV.UK ↩

  11. As there were very few UK landings of blue shark and swordfish in 2021, prices based on EU vessel average landings are used to estimate the potential value of the quota. ↩

  12. NAFO record of the reopening of the fishery in area 3L ↩

  13. 16 August 2024: Fishing opportunities for British fishing boats: determinations published in August to December 2024 - GOV.UK ↩

  14. The TAC for Clyde herring starts on 1 July and finishes at the end of the year. This TAC has not yet been set for 2025, hence quota for Clyde herring is excluded in the 2025 values shown in Table 6. ↩

  15. Fisheries: cooperation between the UK and Norway - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩

  16. Fisheries: bilateral agreement with Norway for 2025 - GOV.UK ↩

  17. Quota exchange of North-East Atlantic mackerel and North Sea Autumn Spawning Herring with the Faroe Islands: Fisheries: bilateral agreement with the Faroe Islands for North-East Atlantic mackerel in 2025 - GOV.UK ↩

  18. North-East Atlantic Mackerel deal with Norway: Fisheries: agreed records of consultations and distribution reports for North East Atlantic mackerel, blue whiting and herring - GOV.UK ↩

  19. North-East Atlantic Mackerel deal with the Faroe Islands: Fisheries: agreed records of consultations and distribution reports for North East Atlantic mackerel, blue whiting and herring - GOV.UK ↩

  20.  Fishing quota allocations for England and the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩

  21. UK and England quota management rules - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩

  22. North-East Atlantic Mackerel deal with Norway: Fisheries: agreed records of consultations and distribution reports for North East Atlantic mackerel, blue whiting and herring - GOV.UK ↩

  23. North-East Atlantic Mackerel deal with the Faroe Islands: Fisheries: agreed records of consultations and distribution reports for North East Atlantic mackerel, blue whiting and herring - GOV.UK ↩

  24. UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2023 - GOV.UK ↩

  25. This data likewise comes from the UK Sea Fisheries Statistics report 2023, however, this data has not been updated for 2023 and so relies on 2022 data. ↩

  26. UK/EU and EAEC: Trade and Cooperation Agreement [TS No.8/2021] - GOV.UK ↩

  27. Fishing opportunities for British fishing boats: determinations published in 2025 - GOV.UK ↩

  28. English Channel Sprat and North Sea Sprat are also mid-year TACs. Their quotas, from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, are included in this report. ↩

  29. Includes 20t inward quota transfer from Norway. ↩

  30. Excludes 100t outward quota transfer to Norway and 250t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  31. Excludes 250t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 50t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  32. Excludes 25t outward quota transfer to Norway and 5t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  33. Excludes 5t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 15t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  34. Excludes 100t outward quota transfer to Faroe Islands. ↩

  35. Excludes 900t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  36. Excludes 100t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 560t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  37. TAC available from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024. ↩

  38. TAC available from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025. ↩

  39. Excludes 400t outward transfer to Norway. ↩

  40. Excludes 5t outward quota transfer to Norway and 5t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  41. Excludes 2t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 2t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  42. The TAC will be reviewed in November and December 2025, alongside the Norway Pout mid-year TAC. ↩

  43. TAC available from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. ↩

  44. TAC available from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. ↩

  45. TAC available from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. ↩

  46. TAC available from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. ↩

  47. Excludes 450t outward quota transfer to Norway and 25t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  48. Excludes 25t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 200t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  49. Excludes 400t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  50. Excludes 200t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  51. Excludes 375t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  52. Includes 182t inward quota transfer from Norway and 76t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands. ↩

  53. Includes 142t inward quota transfer from Norway and 61t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands. ↩

  54. Includes 23,478t inward quota transfer from Norway and 9,906t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands. ↩

  55. Includes 18,321t inward quota transfer from Norway and 7,917t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands. ↩

  56. Excludes 19t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  57. Excludes 600t outward quota transfer to Norway and 850t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  58. Excludes 700t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 360t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  59. The 2025 quota for Clyde herring will not be set until later in 2025. ↩

  60. The 2025 quota will not be set until later in 2025 ahead of the fishery opening in July. ↩

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