Management of shared fish stocks: coastal state agreed records 2023

Agreed record of conclusions of fisheries consutlations between the Faroe Islands, the European Union, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom on the management of blue whiting in the north-east Atlantic in 2023

London, 6 December 2022

1.    A delegation from the Faroe Islands, headed by Herluf SIGVALDSSON, a delegation from the European Union, headed by Thomas BRÉGEON, a delegation from Iceland, headed by Áslaug Eir HÓLMGEIRSDÓTTIR, a delegation from Norway, headed by Vidar LANDMARK, and a delegation from the United Kingdom, headed by Will FRANCIS, met at NEAFC in London on 14 October 2022 to consult on the management of the blue whiting stock in the North-East Atlantic in 2023.

2.    A delegation from the Faroe Islands, headed by Herluf SIGVALDSSON, a delegation from the European Union, headed by Thomas BRÉGEON, a delegation from Iceland, headed by Áslaug Eir HÓLMGEIRSDÓTTIR, a delegation from Norway, headed by Ann Kristin WESTBERG, and a delegation from the United Kingdom, headed by Will FRANCIS, met at NEAFC in London on 6 December 2022 to conclude the consultations on the management of the blue whiting stock in the North-East Atlantic in 2023.

3.    A delegation from Greenland, headed by Iben FUNCH DØJ attended both meetings as an observer.

4.    The delegations noted that the agreed long-term management strategy dated 27 October 2016, is regarded by ICES as consistent with the precautionary approach (Annex I). The delegations also noted that the long-term strategy for blue whiting should have been reviewed after five years. The delegations agreed that this review needs to be coordinated with plans for benchmarking in ICES, and the Parties will return to the issue of a review and the planning and preparation of this during 2023.

5.    The delegations agreed that the level of total catches for blue whiting in the North-East Atlantic for 2023 should be no more than 1,359,629 tonnes as advised by ICES. The delegations also agreed that the establishing of unilateral quotas for 2023 does not in any way imply the acceptance of the level of these quotas by any Party.

6.    The delegations recommended that the NEAFC allowable catches for 2023 would be 108,226 tonnes. These catches should not be considered as additional to the level set in Paragraph 5.

7.    The delegations agreed that Parties shall address the issue of a quota-sharing arrangement as early as possible in 2023.

8.    The delegations encouraged the Parties to develop and coordinate their scientific research activities in order to improve the information available for the assessment and the management of this stock.

9.    The delegations welcomed the outcomes of the Report of the 2022 Coastal States Working Group on the distribution of blue whiting in the Northeast Atlantic, September 2022 to update the “Report from the NEAFC Working Group on Collating Information on the Distribution of All Life Stages of Blue Whiting in the North-East Atlantic and the Distribution of Catches from the Stock, London, 26-28 November 2013” and agreed to update this report in 2023, chaired by [the united Kingdom]

10.    The delegations exchanged final quota and catch information for 2020 and 2021 as well as preliminary information for 2022 (Annex II). The delegations also exchanged information with regard to their fishing activities, including exchanges and access arrangements (Annex III).

11.    The delegations agreed to continue to provide information in the same format as set out in Annex II and Annex III to this Agreed Record. Each Party shall by 1 May 2023, provide updated information in this regard to the United Kingdom as chair of the consultations for 2024. The chair shall forward this information as soon as possible to all Parties to this Agreed Record.

12.    The delegations agreed that the Parties may fish blue whiting within their quotas in their respective zones of fisheries jurisdiction and in international waters.

13.    The delegations agreed that further arrangements by the Parties, including arrangements for access, quota transfers and other conditions for fishing in their respective zones of fisheries jurisdiction, are regulated by bilateral agreements.

The UK delegation noted that it would have preferred the TAC to be set at a lower level than that advised by ICES in order to avoid large annual TAC fluctuations, but noted the risks to coastal States acting unilaterally. Therefore, in agreeing to follow the scientific advice and accept an 81% increase in the level of total catches, the UK delegation proposed that coastal States consider how to maintain more stable catch limits for the stock in the longer term.

London, 6 December 2022

Herluf SIGVALDSSON                    
For the Delegation of the Faroe Islands            

Thomas BRÉGEON
For the Delegation of the European Union

Áslaug Eir HÓLMGEIRSDÓTTIR              
For the Delegation of Iceland          

Ann Kristin WESTBERG
For the Delegation of Norway

Will FRANCIS
For the Delegation of the United Kingdom

Annex I

Arrangement for the long-term management of the blue whiting stock 

1.    The Parties agree to implement a long-term management strategy for the fisheries on the Blue Whiting stock, which is consistent with the precautionary approach and the MSY approach, aiming at ensuring harvest rates within safe biological limits.

2.    For the purpose of this long-term management strategy, in the following text, “TAC” means the sum of the agreed Coastal State quotas and the NEAFC allowable catches.

3.     As a priority, the long-term strategy shall ensure with high probability that the size of the stock is maintained above Blim.

4.    In the case that the spawning biomass is forecast to be above or equal to Btrigger (=Bpa) on 1 January of the year for which the TAC is to be set, the TAC shall be fixed to a fishing mortality of FMSY.

5.    Where the rules in paragraph 4 would lead to a TAC, which deviates by more than 20% below or 25% above the TAC of the preceding year, the Parties shall fix a TAC that is respectively no more than 20% less or 25% more than the TAC of the preceding year.

6.    The TAC constraint described in paragraph 5 shall not apply if:

a.    The spawning biomass at 1 January in the year preceding the year for which the TAC is to be set is less than Btrigger; or

b.    The rules in paragraph 4 would lead to a TAC that deviates by more than 40% from the TAC of the preceding year.

7.    In the case that the spawning biomass (SSB) is forecast to be less than the precautionary biomass (Btrigger) on 1 January of the year for which the TAC is to be set, the TAC shall be fixed at a level that is consistent with a fishing mortality given by: 

Target F = 0.05 + [(SSB - Blim)*(FMSY - 0.05) / (Btrigger - Blim)]

8.    In the case that the spawning biomass is forecast to be less than Blim on 1 January of the year for which the TAC is to be set, the TAC will be fixed corresponding to a fishing mortality F = 0.05.

9.    Each Party may transfer to the following year unutilised quantities of up to 10% of the quota allocated to it. The quantity transferred shall be in addition to the quota allocated to the Party concerned in the following year.

10.    Each Party may authorise fishing by its vessels of up to 10% beyond the quota allocated. All quantities fished beyond the allocated quota for one year shall be deducted from the Party’s quota allocated for the following year.

11.    The inter-annual quota flexibility scheme in paragraph 9 and 10 should be suspended in the year following the TAC year, if the stock is forecast to be under Btrigger at the end of the TAC year.

12.    The Parties, on the basis of ICES advice, shall review this long-term management strategy at intervals not exceeding five years. The first such review shall take place no later than by December 2021.

Annex II

This annex includes a table showing quotas and catches of blue whiting in the North-East Atlantic from 2020 to 2022. The table can be viewed in the attached PDF.

Annex III

This annex includes tables showing transfers and access arrangements for blue whiting in 2022. The table can be viewed in the attached PDF.