Fine Faroes Fishing?

After four long years, North East fishermen have finally gained access to the Faroese waters to try their luck at a big catch.

Earlier this month, a £3m deal between the Faroes and the EU was finalised with the Scottish fleet, in the first fishing agreement of its kind since 2010. The welcome agreement means that fishing boats will now be able to access Faroese waters from April 1.

The deal will also lessen pressure on North Sea and West Coast fisheries, which can only be welcomed.

It was the recent Mackerel International Agreement that got the tide flowing again on the deal after four years in the shallows after Iceland and the Faroe Islands upped their quotas in 2010, and it cannot be underestimated how beneficial this will be for the North East.

Mackerel quotos for EU, Faroese and Norwegian fishermen have been thrashed out, and although Scottish fishermen have made their own sacrifices along the way in order to broker a deal, stocks are going up.

The Faroe Islands will receive 12.6 per cent of the total allowable catch, with the EU and Norway sharing 71.8 per cent. A further 15.6 per cent has been set aside for Icelandic and Russian catches. So far, no deal has been reached with Iceland, but the hope is that further talks will take place.

While some fishermen may not agree with the size of the Faroese quota, the deal will undoubtedly add more security to the industry in these uncertain times.

The agreement also adds extra quota for the Scottish fleet available in Faroese waters. In tonnes for the UK fleet, the biggest catch in the stock stakes are the vitally important whitefish stocks such as Blue Whiting at 880 tonnes, followed by cod and haddock at 817 tonnes and Saithe at 696 tonnes.

Flexibility in where to fish will also be increased, as the focus will not solely be on the North Sea and West Coast as the main waterways to fish.

Traditional stocks of haddock and whiting now have the chance to be replenished as the catching opportunity offered to the Faroes includes 15,000 tonnes of blue whiting, with the Scottish fleet benefiting from 2,000 tonnes of whitefish, including cod, haddock and saithe.

The fact that an important part of the long-standing mackerel wars has finally been resolved will also be key to regulation of the fishery, and ensuring that it is carefully managed again, for the benefit of all.

Scottish boats will now have access into Norwegian waters with immediate effect which will hopefully make 2014 a more rewarding one for Scotland’s fishing industry and those particularly in the North East.

It’s true to say that the Scottish fishing industry will still have its fair share of challenges in the years to come, but this is an end of hostility that we can welcome, and a good catch in turbulent waters.