“Mixed bag” in year-end fisheries quota agreements points to need for better data – Carmichael

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has responded to the now-completed UK-EU and UK-Norway fisheries quota agreements for 2025, calling the overall picture “a mixed bag” and evidence of the need for greater investment in fisheries science to get better data.

Mr Carmichael said:

“With the full UK-EU-Norway negotiations now complete we have a proper sense of what the year will look like for fishermen here – and the overall picture is something of a mixed bag. That is perhaps to be expected given the circumstances, but the detail tells a tale about the need for better science behind quota agreements.

“On the positive side, the return of monkfish to normal quota levels in the EU agreement, thanks to improved data, will be enormously welcome to local boats. It is the proof in the pudding that getting better data on stocks is good for everyone involved. This is where research resources really matter – a little investment in the science from government in partnership with industry goes a long way.

“The quota reductions announced in the UK-Norway negotiations meanwhile are a source of great frustration to the local fleet. They have argued time and again for better science around the sustainability of stocks in our waters but will bear the brunt of these reductions. 

“It is in everyone’s interest that North Sea fisheries are sustainable for the long term – and that includes ending the seesaw volatility that we have seen on quota for years. We have had enough instability and uncertainty elsewhere without adding to it.”