OSLO: Norway may close access to its fishing waters to European and British vessels from Jan. 1, its fisheries minister said on Friday, because a trilateral fisheries deal Oslo wants with the European Union and Britain has not been concluded.
Norway, which is not part of the EU but is part of the European single market, negotiates with the bloc about granting access to their respective waters.
Following Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, Oslo also negotiates with London over reciprocal access. Britain completes is departure from the EU’s orbit on Dec. 31.
In September, Norway and Britain concluded a bilateral fisheries deal.
But before any bilateral deals can kick in, Oslo wants a trilateral deal between Norway, the EU and Britain to be in place, and negotiations on this have not yet started, Fisheries and Seafood Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen said.
“If we do not get a deal by Jan. 1, we will not open Norway’s economic fishing zones to vessels from the EU and Britain,” Ingebrigtsen told parliament. “Neither can we expect Norwegian vessels to get access to their (the EU’s and Britain’s) zones before a deal is in place.”
Negotiations over such a deal have been delayed because London and Brussels have not reached an accord governing their relations from the start of 2021, and fisheries is one of the stumbling blocks.
As North Sea fish swim between the zones controlled by the EU, Britain and Norway, Oslo wants a cooperation deal covering all three parties.
“Norway is ready to start talks so that we can agree on total quotas for our common stocks in the North Sea. Our goal is to continue as normal, but for that we need clarity, quickly,” Ingebrigtsen later said in a statement.
Norwegian waters also attract fishermen from the rest of Europe, in particular for cod in the Barents Sea.
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