The Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom have signed a bilateral agreement on mutual fishing opportunities in their respective waters for 2022.
Following negotiations that began in Tórshavn in late November and continued digitally through December and January, the agreement was signed on February 8th at the Representation of the Faroe Islands in Copenhagen.
According to the agreement, the Faroes will have rights to fish for Greenland halibut, cod, horse mackerel, haddock, ling, tusk og blue ling in UK waters, while the UK will have rights to fish for cod, haddock, coal fish, blue ling, ling, flatfish, plus a quota for other species. Both countries also haven mutually granted smaller quotas for subsidiary catch.
Faroe and the UK have likewise “agreed to cooperate in their mutual interest in securing continued responsible fisheries and ensuring long-term conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources,” the agreement reads.
Árni Skaale, Faroese Minister of Fisheries, calls the agreement “historic” and “a milestone” in the cooperation between the two nations, who as of now can enter a future with closer collaboration on fishing rights. This, according to Mr. Skaale, will have a positive impact on the overall cooperation between the nations in the future.
