Norway and the EU Commission have concluded a bilateral agreement on the regulation of the fishery for Norwegian spring-spawning herring in 2006.

According to the agreement, Norway may fish 564 200 tonnes of herring in 2006, and the EU may take 62 000 tonnes. The EU is permitted to fish the whole of its quota in the Economic Zone of Norway and in the fisheries zone around Jan Mayen. It will no longer be prohibited for vessels from EU member states to land herring catches in Norway.

“The Government is pleased that Norway and the EU have reached an agreement on Norwegian spring-spawning herring,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. “In addition to providing a framework for sustainable catches of this stock in the long term, the agreement will provide a basis for further strengthening of the bilateral fisheries cooperation between Norway and the EU.”

The negotiations earlier this autumn on a five-party agreement on the management of the Norwegian spring-spawning herring stock, which would have included all the relevant coastal states, were not successful. However, through the agreement with the EU and the agreement previously concluded with Russia, Norway has been able to ensure that three of the coastal states will limit their catches of this stock.

“The agreement with the EU will make it possible to keep the harvest of Norwegian spring-spawning herring at a stable level,” said Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen. “It also means that landing and sales of herring will return to normal. I believe this will be very positive both for the fishermen and for processing facilities onshore.”