European Union and the United Kingdom - fisheries consultations: written record 2026

Non-quota stocks

a) The Parties agreed not to apply the tonnages provided for in Article 2(1)(b) of Annex 38 to the TCA and Decision 1/2025 of 19 June 2025 of the SCF in 2026, but will continue to closely monitor non-quota stocks fished by each Party in the waters of the other Party. The Parties agreed that in the event that either Party reaches 80% of its total before the end of 2026, the Parties will meet and consider next steps.

b) For the purposes of monitoring landings of non-quota species and in line with the Parties’ obligations under Article 507 of the TCA (data-sharing), the Parties agreed to continue exchanging landings data (for each Party’s vessels from the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters of the other Party, and at a species level) at monthly intervals on or before the 25th day of each calendar month, covering the previous calendar month. 

c) The Delegations reiterated the commitment made in paragraph 12(c) of the 2023 Written Record to ensure the robustness of the landings data exchanged and recognised again the importance of data transparency. Landings data for 2024 and provisional landings data for the period from 1 January 2025 to 30 September 2025 is set out in Annex 3, outlining aggregate total landings for non-quota species. Overall, in 2024 the EU landings from UK waters comprised a total of 178 non-quota species and the UK landings from EU waters comprised a total of 143 non-quota species.

d) The Parties agreed to update the data quarterly in 2026 to cover the period 1 October to 31 December 2025 and subsequently the period 1 January to 30 September 2026 and attach it to either an appropriate Written Record or minutes of the SCF. The Delegations recognised the importance of data transparency and agreed to discuss this further in the SCF during 2026.

e) The Delegations acknowledged the constructive work undertaken to develop the multi-year strategy for king scallops and continue discussions in 2026 in the framework of the SCF as a matter of priority.

f) The Parties noted that as the scientific basis improves and the understanding of sustainable fishing levels for NQS increases, there could be value in exploring alternative approaches to enhance the management of these species, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable stocks.

g) Seabass

The Delegations noted the benchmark results for northern seabass and the resulting updated perception of the stock. The Delegations further noted that the updated assessment shows the stock to be in a healthy state, with fishing mortality below FMSY and biomass above MSY Btrigger. 

The Delegations further noted that, while advice for the relevant seabass stocks is issued at the stock level, ICES provides corresponding catch information for each area, taking into account that a proportion of the seabass caught in divisions 4.b–c and 7.a, 7.d–h originates from the Bay of Biscay stock. On this basis, the Delegations applied the area-based advice for divisions 4.b–c and 7.a, 7.d–h.

The Delegations welcomed the positive advice and the success of the joint measures implemented in 2015. The Delegations discussed these measures for seabass and the Parties agreed to roll over arrangements in place during 2025, and agreed that the following adjustments would be introduced in the respective legal systems in the course of 2026:

i. The commercial trawl/seine bycatch limits will be amended to 10.0 tonnes per vessel per year, but the bass per trip limit will increase from 10% to 20% to help reduce discarding;

ii. The hooks and lines catch limits will be amended from 6.8 to 8.0 tonnes per vessel per year;

iii. The fixed gillnet bycatch limits will be amended from 1.8 to 5.4 tonnes per vessel per year.

iv. The recreational bag limit will be amended from 2 to 3 specimens per fisher per day. 

The Parties agreed to monitor changes in catches by all commercial fleets and share tonnages during the year at quarterly intervals from 1 January 2026 to ensure that the ICES catch advice is not exceeded.

The Delegations recalled the commitment made in the Written Record for 2021 paragraph 13(f)(ii) to introduce catch reporting for commercial shore-based netting. The Parties agreed to discuss and update this commitment in the SCF as a priority.

The Parties further agreed to make a joint request to ICES to promptly update the seabass allocation tool to incorporate additional catch scenarios presented in the ICES advice, including options beyond the MSY basis, provided they remain consistent with achieving or maintaining MSY objectives and keeping the stock within safe biological limits, ahead of the EU-UK annual consultations for 2027.

The Parties agreed that the tool should also be enhanced to assess vessel catch-limit utilisation, the effects of changes in vessel numbers within the commercial fleet segments, and the implications of introducing new fleet segments, in order to support more robust risk analyses. In this context, the tool will be updated with the latest fleet information and an expanded dataset obtained through a new data call.

The Parties committed to hold further technical discussions under the SCF in 2026 to review the current seasonal closures (February to March), with any proposed adjustments to be based on evidence and informed by ongoing scientific work conducted by the Parties.

Finally, the Delegations acknowledged the importance of establishing a pathway toward the progressive lifting of the seabass moratorium, subject to scientific advice confirming that the stock remains healthy and within safe biological limits.