Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure the UK distant waters fishing fleet has access to fishing opportunities from the year 2021 in (1) the Norwegian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) north of 61 degrees latitude, (2) the Faeroe EEZ, (3) the Greenland EEZ, and (4) the seas around Svalbard.

On the 31st December 2020, the UK will leave the Common Fisheries Policy. As we become an independent coastal state, we are committed to working closely with our coastal partners including the EU, Norway and Faroe Islands to manage shared stocks in a sustainable way and share fishing opportunities based on the scientific principle of zonal attachment.

As part of these preparations, the UK has concluded fisheries framework agreements with Norway and the Faroes, the first of which was signed on 30 September and has now been laid before Parliament. These framework agreements will provide the basis for annual negotiations on fishing opportunities and access to waters. In the forthcoming annual negotiations, the UK will seek to ensure the best possible outcomes for the whole of the UK fishing industry and our marine environment.

In addition, Defra officials are engaging regularly with their Greenlandic counterparts on opportunities for enhancing bilateral fisheries cooperation between the UK and Greenland. The UK’s rights under the 1920 Treaty of Paris with regards to fishing opportunities in Svalbard waters remain unchanged.