The United Kingdom and Faroese governments have signed an agreement to ensure UK fishermen can continue to access and catch fish in Faroese waters after the UK leaves the European Union on 31 October.
The United Kingdom and Faroese governments have signed an agreement to ensure UK fishermen can continue to access and catch fish in Faroese waters after the UK leaves the EU on 31 October.
Currently the UK fleet fishes in Faroese waters under the EU-Faroe Islands fisheries agreement. When the UK leaves the EU and becomes an independent coastal state this current agreement will cease, however the new agreement, signed on 15th of October, ensures that the existing arrangements between the two countries remain in place until the end of 2019.
The UK is committed to continuing to work together the Faroe Islands, providing certainty for respective industries and managing Shared fish stocks sustainably, the Department for Environment , Food & Rural Affairs said in a press release.
According to the agreement, it will:
- honour the existing access arrangements agreed, in as far as they concern the UK and the Faroe Islands
- ensure that appropriate licencing, control and enforcement
- provisions are in place, following the model agreed by the EU and Faroe Islands, to enable fishing opportunities to continue to be enjoyed by both the UK and Faroe Islands for the remainder of 2019
- honour the existing quota exchanges for 2019, and existing access arrangements between the UK and the Faroe Islands
