European Union and the United Kingdom – sandeel fisheries consultations: written record for 2024

1. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (‘the TCA’) between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) includes the objective of cooperating with a view to ensuring that fishing activities for shared stocks in their waters are environmentally sustainable in the long term and contribute to achieving economic and social benefits, and requires the Parties to hold consultations annually to agree the total allowable catches (TACs) for the following year for the stocks listed in Annex 35 to the TCA. Sandeels are included in that Annex.

2. A Delegation from the European Union, headed by Dr Norman GRAHAM and a Delegation from the United Kingdom, headed by Ms Grace ROSINSKI, met in a virtual format on 7 and 8 March 2024 to consult on fishing opportunities for sandeels in 2024 in accordance with Article 498 (Fishing Opportunities) of the TCA. This Written Record documents the outcome of those consultations.

3. The Heads of Delegations agreed to recommend to their respective authorities the fishery arrangements for 2024 set out in this Written Record, including Annex 1. Accordingly, where this Written Record refers to the Delegations (or the Parties) having agreed on a matter, it should be read as an agreement to recommend to the Delegations’ respective authorities to implement the arrangements in this Written Record, including Annex 1.

4. The Delegations considered the sandeel stocks listed in Annex 35 to the TCA and agreed to establish the total allowable catches (TACs) for 2024, and the associated special conditions, flexibilities and footnotes, shown in Annex 1.

5. The parties note that ICES recommends the establishment of a monitoring TAC in 2024 in Sandeel Management areas 4 and 3r. A monitoring TAC has been established for Sandeel Management area 3r within EU waters only, but no monitoring TAC has been established for Sandeel Management area 4 this year.

6. The other relevant arrangements for jointly managed stocks in the Written Record of fisheries consultations between the United Kingdom and the European Union for 2024 signed on 6 December 2023 (“the Written Record of 6 December 2023”) will continue to apply for sandeels.

7. The Delegations agreed in paragraph 13(d) of the Written Record of 6 December 2023 to update the data quarterly in 2024 on provisional landings of non-quota stocks to cover the period 1 October to 31 December 2023 and subsequently the period 1 January to 30 September 2024 and attach it to the next Written Record or the minutes of the next SCF meeting. The updated data is in the Annex 2 to this Written Record.

London
For the United Kingdom
Grace Rosinski

Brussels
For the European Union
Norman Graham

Annex 1

Code	Common Name	ICES areas	Agreed Total Allowable Catch (tonnes)	UK allocation				EU allocation
				TCA TAC share (%)	TCA quota (tonnes)	Transfer to/from EU (tonnes)	UK post- transfer quota (tonnes)	TCA TAC share (%)	TCA quota (tonnes)	Transfer to/from UK (tonnes)	EU post- transfer quota (tonnes)
SAN/2A3A4.	Sandeels (North Sea, All Banks) Ammodytes spp.	United Kingdom and European Union waters of 4; United Kingdom waters of 2a; European Union waters of 3a	169,411 (2)(3)	3.11%	5,269	-	5,269	96.89%	164,142		164,142 (1)
			Up to 2 % of the quota may consist of by catches of whiting and mackerel (OT1/*2A3A4). By catches of whiting and mackerel counted against the quota pursuant to this provision and by catches of species counted against the quota pursuant to Article 15(8) of regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 shall, together, not exceed 9 % of the quota. In Union waters of 3r, the TAC may only be fished as monitoring TAC with an associated sampling protocol for the fishery. Special condition: within the limits of the abovementioned TAC, no more than the quantities indicated below may be taken in the following sandeels management areas:
SAN/234_1R	Sandeels (North Sea, Bank 1r)	Sandeel bank 1r	128,346	3.11%	3,992	-	3,992	96.89%	124,354	-	124,354
SAN/234_2R	Sandeels (North Sea, Bank 2r)	Sandeel bank 2r	35,925	3.11%	1,117	-	1,117	96.89%	34,808	-	34,808

Annex 2: data on landings of non-quota stocks

Cumulative UK and EU landings of non-quota stocks from each other’s waters. This is updated data from that outlined in Annex 3 of the Written Record of fifisheries consultations between the UK and the EU for 2024.

	UK NQS landings (tonnes)				EU NQS landings (tonnes)
	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Provisional 2023 totals	1,766	3,501	6,266	9,581	5,517	11,850	15,918	22,224
Final 2022 totals	2,022	4,303	8,599	12,958	4,753	9,262	14,445	23,045

European Union and the United Kingdom – sandeel fisheries consultations: written record for 2024

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