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

11. Electronic data exchange

11.1 The Delegations noted the decision by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) to implement and set into production the new Electronic Reporting System (ERS) based on the United Nations Fisheries Language for Universal Exchange (UN/FLUX standard) on 15 January 2024. This date marked the start of the two-year transition period wherein the remaining Contracting Parties shall test and implement the new ERS data exchange system based on the UN/FLUX standard. The Delegations noted that the transition period has been extended to 31 December 2026. Furthermore, the Delegations noted that the bilateral agreements on exchange of electronic vessel positions data between the EU and Norway and between Norway and the UK have been revised and completed to facilitate exchange of data based on UN/FLUX standard.

11.2 The Delegations agreed to continue to make revisions to the current agreements on bilateral electronic exchange of data between the Parties, including fishing activities (ERS) and notifications and authorisations data. The Delegations noted that the discussions and work had been intensified by the Parties in 2025, recognising the technical challenges that need to be overcome.

11.3 Furthermore, the Delegations noted the progress made at technical level to develop a template (i.e. common principles) for an electronic notification and authorisation scheme based on the UN/FLUX standard with the intention to establish bilateral data exchanges, as appropriate. They also noted the ongoing technical work on fishing activities (ERS) data based on the UN/FLUX standard and agreed to continue the development in a trilateral setting to establish a template (i.e. common principles) with the intention to establish bilateral data exchanges, as appropriate.

11.4 The Delegations agreed to seek suitable arrangements within the scope of the Working Group on electronic exchange of data as outlined in Annex 1. The Delegations acknowledged the positive cooperation within the Working Group on electronic exchange of data. This cooperation aims to develop, review and implement the relevant technical regulations applicable to vessels fishing in the waters of the other Party.

11.5 The Delegations noted that certain systems referenced in the 2026 Technical Annexes are inherently stable and do not require annual updates or review. The Delegations agreed that the Working Group on electronic exchange of data should be tasked to update the Technical Annexes for 2027 to reflect any separate Agreed Records and to remove these references from the Technical Annexes in order to prevent duplication. The Delegations further agreed to consider whether the Technical Annexes should be reviewed annually and published alongside the Agreed Record or only when an update is requested by either Party.

11.6 The UK hosted the first Working Group meeting of 2025 in Scotland in April, Norway the second meeting in Bergen in June and the EU the third meeting in Brussels in October. The UK will host the next meeting in York in 2026.