Faroe Islands: A look at GPS tagging of dolphins
Russian fishing vessels will no longer be allowed in UK waters, fishing minister Mark Spencer has announced.
Maritime bosses had demanded that a loophole be closed that allows the ships to fish in UK waters despite sanctions since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
The issue arose because of a shared area agreement signed in 1999 between the Faroe Islands - 200 miles north of Scotland - and the UK.
Speaking to the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Mr Spencer said: “There is an area between the Faroe Islands and the UK which has been a shared fishing zone for some time.
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“The Faroes have agreed not to allow Russian vessels into that special area in 2024. I think that’s a huge step forward.
“It’s worth recognising that the Faroese have taken that decision - obviously we’ve encouraged them to do that - but it’s a decision they’ve made.
“I think that’s the right decision but we continue to negotiate with them to try and work out how we can continue to work more closely going forward.”
The Express previously traveled to the island nation to uncover how Russian fishing vessels were exploiting the loophole.
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Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association (SFPA), said: "It was unconscionable that Russian vessels were permitted to fish in UK waters because of a long-standing agreement with a third party (the Faroe Islands), and it is to Mark Spencer's credit that he has brought the practice to an end.
"The SFPA repeatedly lobbied the UK government after the anomaly emerged following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At that time the UK blocked Russian vessels but Faroe chose not to. That meant - under the terms of a protocol between the UK and Faroe - Russian vessels were still able to operate in a 'special area' - essentially UK waters. Our members who fish for blue whiting are pleased to see a positive outcome."
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The Russian Government this week gave its approval to a draft law denouncing the long-standing fisheries agreement with the UK.
The decision came in response to the termination of Russia’s most favoured nation trade status by the UK in March 2022.
The 1956 fisheries agreement, originally established between the USSR and the United Kingdom, granted British fishing boats the right to operate in specific areas of the Barents Sea along the Kola Peninsula’s coast.
Even after the dissolution of the USSR, the agreement remained in force as Russia succeeded the Soviet Union.
German Zverev, president of the All-Russia Fisheries Association (VARPE), said: “We understand this to be the response of the Russian authorities to the unfriendly actions of Britain.”
The UK imposed sanctions against Russia in the summer of 2022 which imposed a 35 per cent tariff on Russian-caught whitefish.
But the Faroese parliament gave Moscow the right to catch tens of thousands of tonnes of blue whiting in an area of the North Atlantic it shares with the UK, despite the invasion of Ukraine.
Faroese fleets were given access to 12,285 tonnes of cod in the Barents Sea plus 1,276 tonnes of haddock, 900 of flatfish and 4,000 of shrimp in 2023.
In return, Russian vessels were allowed to catch 72,000 tonnes of blue whiting, 13,000 tonnes of mackerel and 8,500 tonnes of herring.
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