The Faroese longliner fleet has been dealt an economic blow as the global Flemish Cap cod quota will be slashed by 18 percent next year, dropping to a total of 12,452 tonnes. The decision, finalized at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) annual meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, imposes a restrictive framework under the banner of precautionary management.
For the Faroe Islands, NAFO’s latest conservation measure on cod means the national allocation will drop by 650 tonnes, plummeting from 3,433 tonnes this year down to 2,783 tonnes next year. The sharp reduction directly impacts specialized local longline vessels, which rely heavily on the Flemish Cap as a core distant-water destination during their annual rotations.
Market silver lining
However, industry analysts point to the upbeat trend in market prices which could soften the blow for vessel owners. Pushed by aggressive quota cuts across the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea, global Atlantic cod prices have surged to historic record highs, recently cracking 9,500 USD per metric tonne.
The tight global supply has already directly boosted the Faroese economy, with domestic cod export values jumping up by 25 percent as buyers pay premiums for high-quality whitefish. While longliners will bring home fewer fish from the Flemish Cap, the record-breaking value per kilogram means the financial impact of the 650-tonne loss may be substantially mitigated at market.