The EU, Norway and the UK agree on fishing opportunities in the North Sea for 2026

On 5 December, the EU concluded an agreement with Norway and the UK on the management of shared fish stocks in the North Sea for 2026. The agreement secures 343 000 tonnes of cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring for the EU fleet, worth 609 million euros. This arrangement secures valuable fishing opportunities and provides predictability for the EU fleet in 2026.

This year, the EU, Norway and the UK agreed on a new management approach for North Sea herring, including a long-term management strategy for the stock and a package of management measures that will help ensure the sustainability of herring fisheries in the North Sea and the Skagerrak-Kattegat.

In this context, the EU has secured an additional 10-year access to UK waters for the Skagerrak herring fleets. This arrangement, together with forthcoming area-based measures, will help support the recovery of the depleted Western Baltic herring stock.

The agreement also includes remedial measures to support the Northern shelf cod stock recovery to sustainable levels, such as new and extended seasonal closures and enhanced real-time-closures.

All total allowable catches (TACs) were set in line with the maximum sustainable yield - the highest amount of fish that can be taken from the sea without harming its ability to reproduce and sustain it.

The EU, Norway and the UK also agreed to continue cooperating on monitoring, control and surveillance, developing best practices and measures to strengthen compliance and ensure a level playing field.

Next steps

The catch limits agreed between the EU, Norway and the UK will be incorporated into the Fishing Opportunities Regulation for 2026, on which the upcoming Council of EU fisheries Ministers is expected to reach a political agreement on 11 and 12 December 2025.

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