Coastal States

There are a large number of fish stocks that straddle UK and the waters of other Coastal States. Effective management of these shared stocks requires joint management with other Coastal States such as Norway and the European Union. The basis for managing and accessing these stocks is set out in a number of Fishing Agreements.

For Northern Ireland, the principal Coastal State for joint management in the Irish Sea is the European Union. The annual fishing negotiation supports and builds on Trade and Co-operation Agreement. This agreement sets strategic management objectives and approaches for shared fish stocks, including access and other governance arrangements, including the shares of each stock for the UK and EU.

The UK has now concluded the 2021 fisheries negotiations with the European Union, setting Total Allowable Catches (TAC’s) for the shared stocks.

The full outcome of the UK / EU annual negotiation agreement can be accessed here (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fisheries-consultations-between-the-uk-and-the-eu-in-2021

Additional information can be accessed as follows;

The UK Government Press release may be accessed here ‘ Coastal States | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (daera-ni.gov.uk) or ( https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/coastal-states )

Victoria Prentis, the UK Minister for Farming Fisheries and Food has made a statement on all the Coastal State negotiations which can be accessed here (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-06-10/hcws86 )

Additional information can be accessed as follows;

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