The Faroe Island and Russia Reached a Fisheries Agreement for 2025
The fisheries agreement between the Faroe Islands and Russia gives Faroese vessels access to fish for Northeast Arctic cod (pictured), haddock, flatfish and shrimp in the Russian zone of the Barents Sea – while Russian vessels can fish for mackerel, herring and blue whiting in Faroese waters. (Photo: Kjartan Mæstad/the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research)
After digital negotiations, the Faroe Islands and Russia have now set next year's fishing quotas for Faroese waters and the Russian part of the Barents Sea. Both countries will have partly reduced and partly unchanged quotas.
Faroese and Russian authorities have entered into a fisheries agreement for 2025, the Faroese government announced on Thursday.
The negotiations took place on a digital platform last week. The Faroese side decided to initiate them after consultations between the Minister of Fisheries and the foreign affairs committee in the parliament.
In light of significant reductions in the quotas for demersal fish in the Barents Sea for 2025, the Faroe Islands have been granted lower cod and haddock quotas in Russian waters compared to 2024:
- The cod quota in 2025 is set at 7,445 tonnes, a decrease of 23.8 percent.
- The haddock quota is set at 1,000 tonnes, a reduction of 4.5 percent.
- The quotas for flatfish and shrimp remain unchanged at 900 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes, respectively.
Two Faroese vessels will also be able to fish simultaneously for shrimp in Russian northern waters in 2025. Previously, the agreement was limited to only one vessel at a time.
Russian quotas
For its part, Russia will receive lower quotas for mackerel and herring for next year:
- The mackerel quota is set at 8,080 tonnes, a decrease of 34.3 percent.
- The herring quota is set at 5,800 tonnes, a reduction of 10.6 percent.
- The quota for blue whiting remains unchanged at 75,000 tonnes.
Russian vessels will also be allowed to fish up to 52,612 tonnes of their international blue whiting quota in Faroese waters, a slight reduction from the 2024 level (55,618 tonnes).
On the other hand, Russian vessels will not be able to fish in the special zone between the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom in 2025. This restriction was introduced in the fisheries agreement for 2024.
Norway and Russia negotiated a fisheries agreement for 2025 in early November.
