United Kingdom and Norway - fisheries consultations: agreed record for 2026

10. Control and enforcement

10.1 The Delegations recalled the longstanding cooperation between the Parties' respective control authorities, which entails both strategic and operational cooperation throughout the entire value chain. The Delegations shared the view that efficient and trustworthy Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) measures were key factors in a comprehensive management regime targeting sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources.

10.2 The Delegations noted the work that has been carried out in 2025 in line with the bilateral agreement to improve compliance with fisheries management measures which was signed in 2023. In particular, the Delegations commended the work of the joint Compliance Forum in 2025 in sharing good practice on improving monitoring, control and enforcement measures. The Delegations agreed that the Compliance Forum should continue to meet at least annually and as appropriate.

10.3 The Delegations noted that the Compliance Forum at its most recent meeting on 6-8 May 2025 had agreed to set up a joint workshop related to risk analysis, methodologies and other issues connected to risk topics, including sharing of tools, and identifying common issues with shared fisheries. This workshop is postponed to 2026. The Delegations further agreed that the Compliance Forum should provide them with an update on its work and relevant suggestions from the group, including any proposals on MCS measures to consider well in advance of their bilateral consultations for 2027. Norway will host the next Compliance Forum on the week commencing 4 May 2026.

10.4 The Delegations referred to the agreement in the 2026 Trilateral Agreed Records to establish a Working Group on MCS in the North Sea, which will begin its work in early 2026 and report on its progress at the Trilateral intersessional meeting.

10.5 The Delegations noted the good cooperation this year to implement the relevant technical regulations that apply to vessels fishing in the waters of the other Party, as set out in the Technical Annexes.

10.6 The UK Delegation shared information with the Norwegian Delegation about the implementation of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) on pelagic vessels in the UK. Any relevant pelagic vessels fishing in Scottish waters will be required to have a fully installed and operational REM system onboard that meets the Scottish Government’s technical specifications from 7 March 2026. Relevant vessel owners should contact the Scottish Government’s Fully Documented Fisheries Unit (FDF@gov.scot) as soon as possible to get their REM system validated and to arrange a system test trip.

10.7 The Delegations referred to the ‘Stand Alone Agreement’ signed in November 2022 (Agreed Record of Conclusions of Fisheries Consultations between Norway, the EU, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and the UK on Control Measures for Pelagic Stocks in the North East Atlantic). The Delegations took note of the report from the Coastal State Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Working Group from September 2024 and the proposed recommendations and best practice. They also noted the ongoing consultations to update the Stand Alone Agreement with further control measures for the pelagic stocks. The Delegations recognised the importance of continuing to coordinate and share best practice wherever possible whilst also noting that individual parties may have monitoring objectives of their own for which they may deploy the technology and measures they deem most capable of achieving those.