The Faroe Islands and Iceland have begun negotiations on access arrangements and fishing quotas for the 2027 fishing year, while also extending the current bilateral framework for 2026 on a temporary basis.
The agreement between the two countries was first established in 2022 and will remain in force until at least 1st August 2026. After that date, further extensions are possible depending on how the talks progress.
Negotiations for the 2027 agreements are scheduled to begin at the end of the month, earlier than is traditionally the case. Both countries agreed it was beneficial to start discussions early in order to address long-term stability in their fisheries relationship.
“Fishing is of course extremely important to the economies of Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and our cooperation has been both long and successful, but also challenging. Now a timely and important step has been taken to continue this cooperation on an equal footing and build a new arrangement for the future,” said Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Beyond setting quotas and access, the talks are also expected to cover broader issues such as catch data sharing, fisheries control cooperation, and the effects of climate-driven changes in fish distributions, areas both governments acknowledge as ongoing challenges.