Important agreed records of fishery consultations and the EU Council Regulation setting the TACs for Community waters have been published recently. The herring-related parts are reproduced below (more will be added as they become available):

• Agreed record of conclusions of fishery consultations between the European Community and Norway for 2002
• Agreed record of conclusions of fishery consultations between the European Community and Norway on the regulation of fisheries in Skagerrak and Kattegat for 2002
• Agreed record of conclusions of fishery consultations between the European Community and the Faroe Islands
• Council Regulation (EC) No 2555/2001 (pdf-file, XXX kB, requires Acrobat Reader) from the Offical Journal of the European Community, 31 Dec 2001

Agreed record of conclusions of fishery consultations between the European Community and Norway for 2002 (Brussels, 15 Dec 2001):

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State of the fish stocks

4. The parties noted with grave concern that the latest scientific information from ICES about the state of stocks confirms that herring and all jointly managed demersal stocks exept saithe are close to or outside safe biological limits. They agreed that further sustained efforts are needed in order to improve the overall stock situation.
Furthermore, they agreed on the need to strengthen and enhance the scientific basis for providing advice.
...
The parties also agreed to continue to improve the exploitation pattern through technical measures such as reduction of discards, improving selectivity of fishing gear, closed seasons and areas as well as other appropriate measures.

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Herring

6. The parties agreed that there is still a need to improve the knowledge of, inter alia, the stock composition, the magnitude and the age composition of herring catches in the North Sea and Skagerrak and Kattegat.
The parties agreed to renew the long-term management arrangement for herring, as set out in annex V of this agreed record, until 2004.
In light of the stock situation and applying, mutatis mutandis, the provisions of paragraph 3 of the arrangement referred to in annex V, the parties agreed to a continued implementation of the measure staken in 2001 to ensure the rebuilding of the stock. They recalled that, under paragraph 6 of the said arrangement, wich is a continuation of the arrangement which entered into force on 1 January 1998, a review shall take place no later than 31 December 2004.
In this context, the parties concluded that the by-catch of herring in other fisheries will be limited to 36'000 tonnes in 2002; this quota will be allocated to the Community.

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Over-fishing

20. The parties agreed to assess and elaborate specific criteria relating to the consequences to be drawn in cases of over-fishing of quotas. The parties will consider relevant proposals during next year's annual consultations.

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ANNEX V

TABLE 1: Joint quotas in the North Sea

(1) Any part of this allocation not taken may be added to the allocation in the party's own zone
(6) Limited to ICES Divisions IVa and IVb
(7) an additional 10'000 tonnes will be granted if such an increase is called for.

Agreed record of conclusions of fishery consultations between the European Community and Norway on the regulation of fisheries in Skagerrak and Kattegat for 2002 (Brussels, 15 Dec 2002)

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4. The delegations had concurrent views on the situation of the North Sea component of herring in the Skagerrak and Kattegat area and on the need to continue taking the measures agreed on the basis of the ACFM advice for 2002 in order to rebuild that component.
In this context, the delegations concluded that the by-catches of herring taken in industrial and sprat fisheries will be limited to 21'000 tonnes in 2002.
The parties referred to annex 1 of the agreed record of conclusions of fisheries consultations between the European Community and Norway of 2 December 1997 and agreed that other measures relating to herring of North Sea origin will be dealt with in the framework of the traditional bilateral arrangement between the Community and Norway.
The parties also agreed on the continuing need for closer co-operation between their respective scientists in order to promote transparency and mutual understanding of the sampling schemes for catches in industrial fisheries.

5. The Community delegation held the view that, in principle, there should be a prohibition on directed fishing for herring for purposes other than human consumption. The Norwegian delegation held the view that it is left to each party to decide on the use of its herring catches.

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ANNEX

I. TACs and allocations
Catches taken, during the period 1 January to 31 December 2002 in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat of the species mentioned below, shall be limited as follows (metric tonnes, fresh round weight):

(1) Skagerrak (S): the area defined in Article 1 of the agreement of 19.12.1966. Skagerrak and Kattegat (S+K): the area defined in Article 1 of the agreement of 10.12.1966, extended to the southern boundary of Kattegat, and defined as a straight line from Hasenøre to Gnibens Spids, from Korshage to spodsbjerg and from Gilberg Hoved to Kullen.

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III. Sprat

Based on scientific information regarding the prevailing abundance of herring in relation to sprat in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, the parties agreed that it would be impractical to apply in 2002 the provisions in the agreement of 4 May 1982 relating to by-catch and minimum size of herring in a fishery fro sprat.

Webmaster's note: Norway has allocated 850 tonnes of herring for Sweden in the "Protocol of fisheries consultations between the European Community, on behalf of Sweden, and Norway for 2002"; Brussels, 15 Dec 2001.

Agreed record of conclusions of fishery consultations between the European Community and the Faroe Islands on the regulation of fisheries for 2002 (Brussels, 14 Dec 2002)

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Atlanto-Scandian herring

4. The parties agreed on the importance of the Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery for their respective industries and on the need to ensure its rational and responsible exploitation. To this end, they agreed to continue their constructive co-operation to achieve this objective and to revert to the issue of a bilateral exchange of fishing possibilities within the context of the comprehensive management system for this stock at the appropriate time.

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ANNEX: Quotas for 2002

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1.2 Quotas for Faroese vessels fishing in the Community zone

(1) North of 56°30'N
(9) Limited in the West by a line drawn from the lighthouse of Hanstholm to th elighthouse of Lindesnes and in the South by a line drawn from the lighthouse of Skagen to the lighthouse of Tistlarna and from there to the nearest coast of Sweden.

entered by (Date)
Christopher Zimmermann (14-02-02)