Research and analysis

Economic outcomes of annual negotiations for UK fishing opportunities in 2026

Published 14 April 2026

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Executive summary

The UK participates in fisheries negotiations each year to agree Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas for fish stocks shared with other coastal States.

In December 2025, negotiations concluded setting fishing opportunities for the 2026 fishing year across 3 key negotiating forums. This report summarises the outcomes of these negotiations. They are:

  • UK-EU bilateral negotiations
  • UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations
  • coastal State negotiations

These negotiations provided the UK with approximately 612,000 tonnes in quota, estimated to be worth around £964 million. These figures are inclusive of quota transfers agreed with third countries, such as Norway and the Faroe Islands. This represents a 135,000 decrease in tonnage from 2025, and a £136 million decrease in value of fishing opportunities.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also pursues policy outcomes such as the sustainability of fisheries. An independent report assessing the sustainability of these outcomes is published alongside this document.

UK quota from other sources, including quota exchange agreements with Norway and the Faroe Islands, is assessed in the section ‘Other UK Quota’ to provide a full overview of the fishing opportunities available to the UK fleet. A full TAC list and data table is provided in Annex 2.

Methodology and caveats

UK quota is the UK’s share of each Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The UK quota presented in this report is in line with Secretary of State’s determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats. This means that the figures:

  • cover both allocated and unallocated quota
  • are pre-TAC deductions made for discard exemptions (for example, see 2025 deductions)
  • account for the quota transfers agreed with third countries before the date of this publication, such as Norway and the Faroe Islands
  • do not account for any adjustments such as banking or borrowing, or in-year quota exchanges

This report only covers fish stocks subject to quota management and therefore does not include non-quota stocks. Nor does it deal with access arrangements.

This report summarises the fishing opportunities available to the UK fleet as a result of agreements made in annual negotiations. It does not attempt to predict how much of each of the quotas will be utilised, as fishing quota uptake often varies each year and depends on a wide range of factors that are difficult to accurately forecast, such as weather and fishing capacity. However, an estimate using UK average historic uptake is provided in the summary section for context.

Estimated value is included to provide context to the quota tonnages. The average UK landing price for each TAC in 2024 is used to estimate the potential value of the available fishing opportunities. Where UK TAC-specific values are not available, UK average species level values have been used to estimate fishing opportunities [footnote 1].

In cases where 2024 prices were unavailable, historic prices or the price of a comparable TAC have been used as an alternative. Prices are nominal and in pound sterling at the first point of sale. Consistent prices are applied across each year to allow for a direct year-on-year comparison of negotiated outcomes, avoiding accounting for price fluctuations due to other factors external to the negotiations. This means that, for example, 100 tonnes of mackerel quota for the UK in 2025 is assumed to have the same potential economic value as 100 tonnes in 2026. This analysis is limited to estimating the potential value of the agreed quota and does not assess any wider economic benefits. The value of 2026 fishing opportunities will change when more recent UK landing price data becomes available.

Comparisons are drawn against the outcomes of negotiations for 2020 fishing opportunities. In 2020, as an EU Member State, the UK’s quota shares were mainly based on the EU’s relative stability sharing mechanism [footnote 2]. The UK also participated in the EU’s quota transfer deals with countries such as Norway, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. From 2021, the UK’s quota shares have been based on the new quota sharing arrangement agreed in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (UK-EU TCA), with the UK being independent from the EU’s quota transfer deals.

Estimates of the quota that the UK might have expected to receive in each year since 2021 had the UK remained as an EU Member State are also provided. These are based on the shares of the TACs that the UK received in 2020, which take into account invocations of the Hague Preference [footnote 3], and the EU’s quota transfer deals in that year.

The ‘Quota allocations’ section provides an assessment of the final quota allocated in 2025, following deductions made for discard exemptions. This assessment is not yet available for 2026 as quota allocations have not been finalised. Fishing quota allocations are routinely finalised in the spring.

This report is categorised in terms of the negotiation forum where each TAC is set. This means that there are some minor differences between this and the categorisation in the Secretary of State’s determination. For example, Atlanto-Scandian herring is included under ‘Stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the United Kingdom and the European Union’ in the determination. However, because in practice this TAC is set at coastal State negotiations, it is included in the coastal States total here. There is also a minor difference between the stock lists used here and in sustainability reporting because the latter combines the 2 TACs agreed for mackerel, and 2 of the 3 TACs agreed for North Sea herring.

All figures are shown rounded. This means that there may be some instances where figures do not sum precisely to the overall totals shown.

Negotiated outcomes

Summary

The UK agrees TACs and other fisheries management measures across a number of negotiation forums. The UK-EU bilateral, UK-EU-Norway trilateral, and coastal State negotiations together involved 88 TACs.

These negotiations provided the UK with approximately 612,000 tonnes in quota, estimated to be worth around £964 million. These figures are inclusive of quota transfers agreed with third countries, such as Norway and the Faroe Islands.

Across these 3 negotiations, there was a decrease in UK quota available between 2025 and 2026, with a 135,000 fall in tonnage (-18%) and a £136 million decrease in value (-12%).

Table 1: UK quota from UK-EU, trilateral, and coastal State negotiations

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 747,000 612,000 -18%
UK quota value (£) £1.1 billion £964 million -12%

For each individual UK quota, there are several reasons why the tonnage available may change between years, primarily:

  • a change agreed for the overall Total Allowable Catch (TAC)
  • a change in the UK’s share of the TAC, for example, in accordance with the quota share uplifts agreed in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)
  • a quota transfer agreement with a third country, for example, Norway or the Faroe Islands

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the pattern of change in tonnes and value across each of the 3 main negotiation forums between 2025 and 2026. They show that the quota available from the UK-EU negotiations in 2026 was slightly higher than 2025, whilst quota available from the coastal State negotiations was lower compared to 2025. There was a small increase in quota available from the UK-EU-Norway negotiations from 2025 to 2026. The EU-UK-Norway negotiations provided the largest quota tonnage for the UK in 2026, whereas in 2025 coastal State negotiations offered the greatest tonnage. This was a result of a decrease in the mackerel TAC for 2026.

The EU-UK negotiations provided the highest estimated value in both 2025 and 2026. This can be attributed to an overall rise in high-value EU-UK stocks over the last few years, such as North Sea nephrops and Rockall haddock.

A more detailed break-down of the data and explanation of these patterns for each negotiation forum is provided in the sections below.

Figure 1: Total UK quota (tonnes) across the 3 main negotiation forums in 2025 and 2026

Negotiation forums 2025 2026
EU-UK 150,000 152,000
EU-UK-Norway 289,000 291,000
Coastal States 309,000 169,000

Figure 2: Total UK quota (estimated value) across the 3 main negotiation forums in 2025 and 2026

Negotiation forums 2025 2026
EU-UK £411m £429m
EU-UK-Norway £380m £376m
Coastal States £309m £159m

Comparison against UK’s shares as an EU Member State

Since leaving the EU, the UK now has a larger share of many of the TACs set at these negotiations. This means that TAC cuts are reduced, and TAC increases are heightened, as the UK receives a larger share of the total.

The quota shares that the UK received in 2020 are used to generate an estimate of how much quota the UK might have received from these 3 negotiations had it remained as an EU Member State in each year [footnote 4].

Based on these previous shares, it is estimated that the UK might have received around 528,000 tonnes in 2026 (estimated to be worth around £833 million), in comparison to the 612,000 tonnes actually received. This uplift is estimated to be worth around £131 million.

This uplift is comprised of several different quotas, with one of the largest contributors being Western mackerel. Read Annex 1 and Analysis of fishing quota shares in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement from the Marine Management Organisation for more information.

Figure 3 illustrates the proportion of the UK’s overall quota value from these 3 negotiations since 2021 that is estimated to be due to these uplifts


It displays that from 2021 to 2025, the UK quota share uplift has gradually increased, with a decrease in 2026 compared to 2025, driven largely by the lower mackerel TAC.  

Year   Previous UK shares (£ million)   Quota share uplift (£ million) Total
2021 894 123 1,017
2022 852 124 976
2023 860 171 1,031
2024 918 192 1,110
2025 909 191 1,100
2026 833 131 964

Adjusting for historic uptake

The figures above represent the full quota available to the UK fleet from these negotiations. In a given year, it is difficult to accurately predict how much of each quota will be fished, as this is dependent on a wide range of factors such as weather, fishing capacity, and the availability of by-catch quota.

However, to provide context, the historic percentage uptake of each of the quotas between 2019 and 2024 is used to calculate an approximation [footnote 5]. This may not be accurate for a variety of reasons, for example, if the current size of the quota is smaller or larger than in the past. This also does not account for any banking, borrowing, or swapping of quota. In reality, the true landing figures could be higher or lower.

In 2026, based on historic uptake percentages, we might expect around 469,000 tonnes of the 612,000 tonnes of quota across the 3 main negotiating forums to be utilised, with a value of around £682 million.

UK-EU bilateral negotiations

Through UK-EU bilateral negotiations, 73 TACs were set for the 2026 fishing year.

These 73 TACs provided around 152,000 tonnes of UK quota, with an estimated value of £429 million. These figures are net of quota transfers agreed with Norway and the Faroe Islands.

Table 2: UK quota from UK-EU negotiations

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 150,000 152,000 +1%
UK quota value (£) £411 million £429 million +4%

UK quota saw a 1% increase in tonnage and a 4% rise in value compared to 2025.

Despite an overall increase in UK quota, most individual TACs were lower or the same in 2026 compared to 2025. 17 TACs (23%) were increased, 39 TACs (53%) decreased and 17 TACs (23%) were set at the same tonnage. The rise in quota is primarily due to large TAC increases in North Sea nephrops and North Sea sprat outweighing several small TAC decreases compared to 2025.

The UK’s largest absolute quota tonnage uplifts compared to the previous year were in:

  • North Sea nephrops (+5,495 tonnes)
  • North Sea sprat (+5,018 tonnes)
  • Rockall haddock (+3,285 tonnes)
  • Celtic Sea whiting (+1,037 tonnes)
  • North Sea skates and rays (+541 tonnes)

These uplifts were primarily driven by TAC increases following International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) advice that the stocks can support a higher level of landings for 2026.

The UK’s largest absolute falls in quota tonnage were in:

  • Western spurdog (-2,924 tonnes)
  • North Sea spurdog (-1,618 tonnes)
  • Area 7 Nephrops (-1,479 tonnes)
  • Irish Sea herring (-1,034 tonnes)
  • Celtic Sea haddock (-906 tonnes)

These were mainly driven by reductions in the agreed TACs, resulting in a corresponding fall in UK quota.

The UK and EU also agreed fishing opportunities for non-quota stocks. These outcomes are not within the scope of this publication.

UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations

There are 11 TACs of direct interest to the UK set through these negotiations.

For 2026, these 11 TACs provided around 291,000 tonnes of UK quota, estimated to be worth approximately £376 million.

Table 3: UK quota from UK-EU-Norway negotiations

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 289,000 291,000 +1%
UK quota value (£) £380 million £376 million -1%

Of the 11 TACs set in this forum, 1 was set higher in 2026 than in 2025 and the remaining 10 were lowered. The large TAC increase in North Sea whiting offset the small decreases in the other 10 TACs, leading to a small overall tonnage increase. 

The North Sea whiting quota increased by 31,424 tonnes, providing an additional £36 million worth of fishing opportunities. The largest decrease by tonnage was in North Sea herring (-15,597 tonnes) and the largest decrease by value was in North Sea cod (-£14 million). North Sea cod has a higher pounds per tonne price, hence why the value of the decrease in quota is greater than that of North Sea herring despite a lower tonnage decrease.

Coastal State negotiations

Four TACs of direct interest to the UK are set through these negotiations. These were mackerel, blue whiting, and Norwegian Spring Spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) herring (NSSH/ASH).

For 2026, these 4 TACs provided around 169,000 tonnes of UK quota [footnote 6], estimated to be worth approximately £158 million.

The most significant component of this in terms of the tonnage and value was mackerel with 91,390 tonnes, worth an estimated £134 million [footnote 7].

Table 4: UK quota from coastal State negotiations

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 309,000 169,000 -45%
UK quota value (£) £309 million £159 million -49%

The TACs for mackerel and blue whiting were reduced in 2026 compared to 2025, and the TAC for NSSH/ASH was increased. Overall, this resulted in a 45% tonnage and 49% value decrease compared to 2025.

The pounds per tonne price of mackerel has steadily risen over the last few years, with a 32% increase in price between 2020 to 2024 based on historic landings. Given the importance of mackerel to the UK industry, further analysis on mackerel was undertaken. Provisional landings data from 2025 was used to form a provisional price more reflective of current market trends [footnote 8]. This price suggests mackerel opportunities for 2026 are worth an estimated £157 million compared to the £134 million worth of opportunities included in Table 4 above. Finalised landings data and prices are used for the rest of this report to value available fishing opportunities for 2026.

Total UK quota from all sources

The UK also holds quota in a number of TACs that are not negotiated at the 3 forums covered above. The following section summarises these to provide a full overview of UK quota in 2026.

In total, for the 2026 fishing year, the UK has around 636,000 tonnes of quota from the 3 main negotiation forums and other sources summarised below. This is estimated to be worth approximately £1.06 billion.

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)

The Secretary of State’s determination records UK quota for TACs managed through 3 RFMOs: the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC).

The UK secured shares in 4 Atlantic TACs managed through ICCAT (albacore tuna, bluefin tuna, blue shark, and swordfish) in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement [footnote 9]. In 2026, this translated to around 800 tonnes of UK quota, estimated to be worth approximately £3.9 million. This included a 266% increase in quota for bluefin tuna, from 63 tonnes in 2025 to 231 tonnes in 2026.

In 2026, the UK has 1,432 tonnes of cod quota in area 3M through NAFO, estimated to be worth approximately £4.5 million. For the second year running, cod quota in area 3L through NAFO was secured after the reopening of the fishery in 2025 [footnote 10]. The 40t of quota the UK received from this agreement in 2026 was transferred to the Faroe Islands as part of a quota exchange package and therefore is not accounted for in Table 5 below.

In 2025, the UK had 3,964 tonnes of redfish quota in the NEAFC Regulatory Area [footnote 11], estimated to be worth approximately £8.8 million. NEAFC will set a quota for redfish in the NEAFC Regulatory Area in 2026, which will be confirmed in the Secretary of State’s determination ahead of the fishery opening later in the year. The large percentage decreases in tonnage and value between 2025 and 2026 displayed in the table below are primarily driven by the quota for redfish not having been set for 2026 yet.

Table 5: Total UK quota from RFMO negotiations

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 5,900 2,200 -63%
UK quota value (£) £14.7 million £8.4 million -43%

Stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the UK or the EU

There are several stocks that are present in either UK or EU waters, but not in both, for which the other Party to the UK-EU TCA nevertheless holds a share. For example, ling in Area 5. In these cases, the Party in whose waters the stock occurs is responsible for setting the TAC and notifying the other of their quota. There are also stocks, such as Clyde herring, which is exclusive to the UK and for which the UK holds 100% of the quota [footnote 12].

In 2026, these stocks provide around 16,200 tonnes of UK quota, estimated to be worth approximately £75 million. This excludes 900 tonnes of North Sea and West of Scotland Greenland halibut transferred to the Faroe Islands and 400 tonnes transferred to Norway.

Approximately 99% of this value is due to one stock that is present in UK waters only: West of Scotland nephrops (£74 million). A TAC increase in this stock for 2026 drove the overall increases in value and tonnage shown in the table below.

Table 6: UK quota outcomes across stocks present in only one of UK / EU waters

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 14,100 16,200 +15%
UK quota value (£) £63 million £75 million +19%

Quota under the Treaty of Paris

The UK has access to fishing opportunities in the waters around Svalbard through the Treaty of Paris.

In 2026, these opportunities included 2,556 tonnes of Atlantic cod (Svalbard) allocated by Norway, estimated to be worth approximately £7.6 million.

Table 7: UK quota outcomes under the Treaty of Paris

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2024 to 2025
UK quota (tonnes) 3,075 2,556 -17%
UK quota value (£) £9.1 million £7.6 million -16%

Quota from transfers with countries other than the EU

The UK concluded bilateral negotiations with Norway having agreed a quota exchange deal for the 2026 fishing year in December 2025.

Negotiations with the Faroes Islands for 2 separate quota exchange deals also concluded in December 2025:

A further agreement was signed in January 2026:

The UK also signed a four party agreement with the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway in December to set a provisional 2026 TAC for mackerel.

The quota exchange deal with Norway included inward quota transfers for the UK of Northeast Arctic cod and Northeast Arctic haddock. These inward transfers are estimated to be worth around £2.6 million in value to the UK. The UK transferred out primarily Western ling, Western tusk and Greenland halibut in exchange, with outward transfers valued at around £2.2 million.

As part of these negotiations with Norway, a new access arrangement was agreed whereby Norway have transferred 0.2 percentage points of their North Sea herring share to the UK in return for Norwegian access to the UK EEZ of ICES Area 4. This access tonnage has been set at 1.85% of the TAC. This agreement has secured the UK an additional 657t of North Sea herring quota, worth an estimated £0.4 million. Other access arrangements outside of those mentioned above were also agreed but are out of scope of this report.

On the 19 December 2025, a deal with the Faroe Islands was agreed whereby the UK would receive an inward transfer of 23 tonnes of North-East Atlantic mackerel in return for 60 tonnes of North Sea Autumn Spawning herring. A deal signed on 22 December with the Faroe Islands included inward quota transfers of primarily cod, haddock and saithe worth an estimated £4.8 million. The UK transferred out primarily Greenland halibut in exchange, with outward transfers valued at £2.9 million. A further agreement was signed in January 2026 whereby the UK would receive an inward transfer of 20 tonnes of North-East Atlantic mackerel in return for 50 tonnes of North Sea Autumn Spawning herring.

For the 2026 fishing year, a provisional mackerel TAC was set and coastal State negotiations remain ongoing at the time of writing.

The table below summarises the transfers of quota in third country waters only. This does not include transfers of quotas in the North Sea because these are already accounted for in the sections above, in the forums where those TACs are set. For 2026, transfers with Norway and the Faroe Islands provided 2,900 tonnes of quota, worth an estimated £7 million of fishing opportunities.

Table 8: UK quota from transfers with Norway and the Faroe Islands

2025 2026 Percentage difference from 2025 to 2026
UK quota (tonnes) 3,100 2,900 -6%
UK quota value (£) £7.4 million £7.0 million -5%

The small quota and value decrease from Norway and the Faroe Islands is primarily driven by a decrease in the TAC for Arcto-Norwegian cod which has been set at its lowest level in over 30 years and has decreased by over 50% since 2020 [footnote 13].   

Quota allocations

Quota allocations have not yet been finalised for 2026, so this assessment is available for 2025 only.

After TAC deductions for discard exemptions were applied, and excluding unallocated quota, around 758,000 tonnes of quota were allocated to UK vessels in 2025, estimated to be worth approximately £1.16 billion.

During the allocation process, this quota was split into ‘existing quota’ (quota the UK would have expected to receive as an EU Member State), and ‘additional quota’ (quota received as a result of the quota share uplifts agreed in the UK-EU TCA). The below table shows the tonnage and estimated value split between these 2 categories in 2025.

Table 9: Existing vs. additional quota in 2025

Total allocated quota Existing quota Additional quota Additional quota as % of total allocated quota
UK quota (tonnes) 758,000 646,000 112,000 15%
UK quota value (£) £1.16 billion £989 million £175 million 15%

Pelagic stocks comprised the majority (76%) of the additional quota tonnage in 2025. This was driven by the UK’s quota share uplift agreed in the UK-EU TCA for mackerel, which provided the largest amount of additional quota overall in terms of tonnage (around 52,000 tonnes).

Additional quota was apportioned between the 4 UK fisheries administrations using a hybrid approach. First, for stocks which the UK regularly used to swap in prior to the EU referendum, additional quota is apportioned to the fisheries administrations with a track record of landing it.

For the remaining quota, 90% is apportioned based on the previous track record of fishing activity in each nation, and 10% was apportioned on the principle of zonal attachment (which reflects the geographical areas where fish are present in UK waters). There were also some exceptions made for Wales, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.

Table 10: Additional quota per Fisheries Administration in 2025

England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
UK quota (tonnes) 22,700 7,700 81,000 400
% Of total tonnes 20% 7% 72% <1%
UK quota value (£) £51 million £11 million £111 million £1 million
% Of total value 29% 6% 63% 1%

This table shows that most of the additional quota tonnage was apportioned to Scotland (72%), whereas England received a relatively higher proportion of the additional quota value (29%). This is primarily due to Scotland’s share of high-tonnage pelagic quotas, and England’s share of high-value demersal quotas.

For context on the size of the fleets in each fisheries administration, England contributes the highest number of vessels to the UK fleet (47%), but Scotland’s fleet has more capacity (62%) – see the UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2024. Around 42% of UK fishers worked onboard English vessels and 50% on Scottish vessels. The remaining 8% are split 6% for Northern Irish vessels and 2% for Welsh vessels [footnote 14].

Annex 1: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

On 30 December 2020, the UK and the EU signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which included agreement on the management of UK-EU fish stocks following the UK’s departure from the EU and the end of the transition period.

The TCA includes agreed quota shares for over 100 fish stocks. Many of the UK’s shares will increase gradually over a 5-year period, with the highest uplifts in a single year received in 2021.

Comparison of figures

The full quota share uplifts (by 2026) secured in the TCA were estimated to be worth around £146 million.

This figure was calculated using the full stock list negotiated in the TCA and estimates the difference between the UK’s Relative Stability shares and UK’s final shares in 2026, assuming 2020 TACs, and 2018 UK average prices. For more detail, read the Marine Management Organisation’s Analysis of fishing quota shares in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Although similar, this is not directly comparable to the figures in this report. This is because the figures in this report are calculated using the stock list for each annual negotiation forum, which are subsets of the stock list negotiated in the TCA. They are also based on different TACs (those agreed at annual negotiations for 2026), and more recent UK average prices (2024).

Annex 2: TAC categories

In practice, there are some minor differences between the categorisation of TACs in the Secretary of State’s determination (based on which Parties share the TACs, following the annexes in the Trade & Cooperation Agreement), and the categorisation of TACs in this report (based on which negotiation forum sets the relevant TAC).

Explanation of how these categories fit with one another is provided below, as well as a data table.

UK-EU

There are 79 UK-EU shared TACs.

Three of these are shared only between the UK and the EU but in practice are dependent on TACs decided at the UK-EU-Norway negotiations. These TACs are therefore included in the UK-EU-Norway section below: Cod (Eastern Channel), Haddock (West of Scotland), and Saithe (West of Scotland).

Three TACs are excluded from this report:

  • 1 TAC is prohibited: Deep-Sea Sharks (Western). No quota has been set for this TAC
  • 1 TAC is an ‘of which’ provision of another TAC and is excluded to avoid double counting: Nephrops (Porcupine Bank)
  • 1 TAC is required to be set by the UK and EU as per the Trade and Cooperation Agreement despite catches in UK waters being prohibited: Sandeels (North Sea)

Consequently, 73 UK-EU TACs are covered in this report[footnote 15].

UK-EU-Norway

There are 8 UK-EU-Norway shared TACs.

Including the 3 TACs mentioned above means that 11 UK-EU-Norway TACs are covered in this report.

Coastal States

There are 3 coastal State TACs: mackerel (North Sea), mackerel (western), and blue whiting (northern).

The TAC for Atlanto-Scandian herring (ASH) is included in the section ‘stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the United Kingdom and the European Union’ in the Secretary of State’s determination, however in practice is agreed at the coastal State negotiations.

Therefore, 4 coastal State TACs are covered in this report.

Overall, this gives 88 TACs (73 + 11 + 4) across the UK’s annual fisheries consultations for 2025.

Other sources of UK quota

The UK also receives quota from other TACs.

The UK receives quota through 3 RFMOs: The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). There are 8 TACs in this category.

The UK has access to fishing opportunities in the waters around Svalbard under the Treaty of Paris. The UK is not involved in setting the TAC for this stock. Atlantic cod (Svalbard) is the only TAC in this category.

There are a number of stocks where the UK or EU alone set the TAC (such as Clyde Herring and Skates and Rays (8,9)). There are 9 TACs in this category.

The UK may receive quota transfers through agreements with third countries such as Norway and the Faroe Islands. The UK has agreed to quota transfers with Norway and the Faroe Islands for 2026 and a combined transfer of mackerel from the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway.

TAC list and UK quota data

The tables below align with the annexes in the Secretary of States determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats. The third column indicates which negotiation category these TACs fall into in this report, as detailed above.

UK quota tonnages for 2025 and 2026, as well as the percentage change between years, are also shown.

Annex Table 1: United Kingdom-European Union bilateral stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
ALF/3X14- Alfonsinos (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,14) UK-EU 5 5 0%
ANF/07. Anglerfish (7) UK-EU 11,119 10,783 -3%
ANF/2AC4-C Anglerfish (North Sea) UK-EU 17,566 17,355 -1%
ANF/56-14 Anglerfish (West of Scotland) UK-EU 4,941 4,882 -1%
ARU/1/2. Greater Silver Smelt (1,2) UK-EU 41 41 0%
ARU/3A4-C Greater Silver Smelt (North Sea) UK-EU 21 21 0%
ARU/567. Greater Silver Smelt (Western) UK-EU 503 488 -3%
BLI/12INT- Blue Ling (International 12) UK-EU 0 0 0%
BLI/24- Blue Ling (North Sea) UK-EU 6 6 0%
BLI/5B67- Blue Ling (Western) UK-EU 2,490 [footnote 16] 2,703 [footnote 17] 9%
BLL/7DE Brill (7de) UK-EU 340 353 4%
BOR/678- Boarfish (Western) UK-EU 2,436 1,890 -22%
BSF/56712- Black Scabbardfish (Western) UK-EU 78 35 -55%
COD/07A. Cod (Irish Sea) UK-EU 74 74 0%
COD/07D. Cod (Eastern Channel) UK-EU-Norway 107 60 -44%
COD/5BE6A Cod (West of Scotland) UK-EU 885 [footnote 18] 498 [footnote 19] -44%
COD/5W6-14 Cod (Rockall) UK-EU 56 56 0%
COD/7XAD34 Cod (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 66 20 -70%
DGS/15X14 Spurdog (Western) UK-EU 6,461 3,537 -45%
DGS/2AC4-C Spurdog (North Sea) UK-EU 3,576 1,958 -45%
HAD/07A. Haddock (Irish Sea) UK-EU 1,060 328 -69%
HAD/5BC6A. Haddock (West of Scotland) UK-EU-Norway 8,610 8,294 -4%
HAD/6B1214 Haddock (Rockall) UK-EU 8,666 11,951 38%
HAD/7X7A34 Haddock (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 1,271 365 -71%
HER/07A/MM Herring (Irish Sea) UK-EU 5,171 4,137 -20%
HER/5B6ANB Herring (West of Scotland) UK-EU 1,160 998 -14%
HER/7EF. Herring (Western Channel and Bristol Channel) UK-EU 179 77 -57%
HER/7G-K. Herring (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 1 1 0%
HKE/2AC4-C Hake (North Sea) UK-EU 1,082 1,020 -6%
HKE/571214 Hake (Western) UK-EU 6,756 6,366 -6%
JAX/2A-14 Horse Mackerel (Western) UK-EU 6,124 6,016 -2%
JAX/4BC7D Horse Mackerel (Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel) UK-EU 388 388 0%
L/W/2AC4-C Lemon Sole and Witch (North Sea) UK-EU 1,470 1,357 -8%
LEM/07D. Lemon Sole (7d) UK-EU 20 16 -20%
LEZ/07. Megrims (7) UK-EU 4,306 3,445 -20%
LEZ/2AC4-C Megrims (North Sea) UK-EU 2,787 2,950 6%
LEZ/56-14 Megrims (West of Scotland) UK-EU 2,593 2,745 6%
LIN/03A-C. Ling 3a UK-EU 0 [footnote 20] 0 [footnote 21] 0%
LIN/04-C. Ling (North Sea) UK-EU 1,813 1,269 -30%
LIN/6X14. Ling (Western) UK-EU 3,485 [footnote 22] 2,621 [footnote 23] -25%
NEP/07. Nephrops (7) UK-EU 7,009 5,530 -21%
NEP/2AC4-C Nephrops (North Sea) UK-EU 13,685 19,180 40%
NOP/2A3A4. Norway Pout (North Sea) UK-EU (mid-year) 100 [footnote 24] 100 [footnote 25] 0%
PLE/07A. Plaice (Irish Sea) UK-EU 769 314 -59%
PLE/56-14 Plaice (West of Scotland) UK-EU 360 288 -20%
PLE/7DE. Plaice (English Channel) UK-EU 1,177 811 [footnote 26] -31%
PLE/7FG. Plaice (7fg) UK-EU 30 30 0%
PLE/7HJK. Plaice (7hjk) UK-EU 23 23 0%
POK/56-14 Saithe (West of Scotland) UK-EU-Norway 3,791 2,860 -25%
POK/7/3411 Saithe (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 183 22 -88%
POL/07. Pollack (7) UK-EU 172 556 223%
POL/56-14 Pollack (West of Scotland) UK-EU 24 [footnote 27] 30 [footnote 28] 25%
PRA/2AC4-C Northern Prawn (North Sea) UK-EU 0 0 0%
RJE/7FG. Small-eyed Ray (7fg) UK-EU 57 57 0%
RJU/7DE. Undulate Ray (English Channel) UK-EU 1,324 1,274 -4%
RNG/5B67- Roundnose Grenadier (Western) UK-EU 64 64 0%
RNG/8X14- Roundnose Grenadier (8,9,10,12,14) UK-EU 5 5 0%
SAN/2A3A4. Sandeel (North Sea, All Banks) UK-EU (mid-year) N/A N/A N/A
SBR/678- Red Seabream (Western) UK-EU 11 11 0%
SOL/07A. Sole (Irish Sea) UK-EU 142 96 [footnote 29] -32%
SOL/07D. Sole (Eastern Channel) UK-EU 242 255 5%
SOL/07E. Sole (Western Channel) UK-EU 719 758 5%
SOL/24-C. Sole (North Sea) UK-EU 1,700 2,117 25%
SOL/56-14 Sole (West of Scotland) UK-EU 11 11 0%
SOL/7FG. Sole (7fg) UK-EU 371 320 -14%
SOL/7HJK. Sole (7hjk) UK-EU 28 28 0%
SPR/2AC4-C Sprat (North Sea) UK-EU (mid-year) 2,351 [footnote 30] 7,369 [footnote 31] 213%
SPR/7DE. Sprat (English Channel) UK-EU (mid-year) 4,344 [footnote 32] 4,846 [footnote 33] 12%
SRX/07D. Skates and Rays (Eastern Channel) UK-EU 424 529 25%
SRX/2AC4-C Skates and Rays (North Sea) UK-EU 2,186 2,727 25%
SRX/67AKXD Skates and Rays (Western) UK-EU 2,924 2,890 -1%
T/B/2AC4-C Turbot and Brill (North Sea) UK-EU 861 1,048 22%
USK/04-C. Tusk (North Sea) UK-EU 84 63 -25%
USK/567EI. Tusk (Western) UK-EU 1,857 [footnote 34] 1,367 [footnote 35] -26%
WHG/07A. Whiting (Irish Sea) UK-EU 440 394 -10%
WHG/56-14 Whiting (West of Scotland) UK-EU 3,264 3,535 8%
WHG/7X7A-C Whiting (Celtic Sea) UK-EU 3,648 4,685 28%

Annex Table 2: United Kingdom-European Union-Norway trilateral stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
COD/2A3AX4 Cod (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 9,419 5,282 -44%
HAD/2AC4. Haddock (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 61,928 [footnote 36] 59,824 [footnote 37] -3%
HER/2A47DX Herring (North Sea bycatch) UK-EU-Norway 140 101 -28%
HER/4AB. Herring (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 75,257 [footnote 38] 59,660 [footnote 39] -21%
HER/4CXB7D Herring (Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel) UK-EU-Norway 5,278 4,199 [footnote 40] -20%
PLE/2A3AX4 Plaice (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 41,228 38,277 -7%
POK/2C3A4 Saithe (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 8,940 6,746 -25%
WHG/2AC4. Whiting (North Sea) UK-EU-Norway 74,030 105,454 42%

Annex Table 3: Coastal States stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
MAC/2A34. Mackerel (North Sea) Coastal States 1,415 [footnote 41] 702 [footnote 42] -50%
MAC/2CX14- Mackerel (Western) Coastal States 185,594 [footnote 43] 90,688 [footnote 44] -51%
WHB/1X14 Blue Whiting (Northern) Coastal States 114,157 67,162 -41%

Annex Table 4: United Kingdom-Norway stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
COD/1N2AB. Arcto-Norwegian Cod Transfer (Norway) 1,000 850 -15%

Annex Table 5: United Kingdom-Faroe Island stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
C/H/05B-F. Cod and Haddock (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 880 850 -3%
POK/05B-F. Saithe (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 575 600 4%
RED/05B-F. Redfish (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 10 10 0%
B/L/05B-F. Blue Ling and Ling (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 160 160 0%
FLX/05B-F. Flatfish (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 40 40 0%
OTH/05B-F. Other Species (5b) Transfer (Faroes) 425 425 0%

Annex Table 6: ICCAT Convention Area stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
ALB/AN05N Albacore (North Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 663 553 -17%
BFT/AE45WM Bluefin Tuna (Northeast Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 63 231 266%
BSH/AN05N Blue Shark (North Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 25 25 0%
SWO/AN05N Swordfish (North Atlantic) RFMO (ICCAT) 1 1 0%

Annex Table 7: NAFO Convention Area stocks

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
COD/N3M. Cod (NAFO 3M) RFMO (NAFO) 1,176 1,432 +22%
COD/3L Cod (NAFO 2J3KL) RFMO (NAFO) 0 [footnote 45] 0 [footnote 46] +0%

Annex Table 8: Stocks which are present in the waters of only one of the United Kingdom and the European Union

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2025 UK quota (tonnes) 2026 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2026 vs. 2025)
GHL/2A-C46 Greenland Halibut (North Sea and West of Scotland) UK to set TAC 191 [footnote 47] 168 [footnote 48] -12%
HER/06ACL. Herring (Clyde) UK to set TAC 583 N/A [footnote 49] N/A
HER/4C_BW Herring (Blackwater) UK to set TAC (mid-year) 10 [footnote 50] N/A [footnote 51] N/A
HER/1/2- Herring (ASH) Coastal States 7,847 10,427 +33%
LIN/05EI. Ling (5) UK to set TAC 1 1 0%
LIN/1/2. Ling (1,2) UK to set TAC 7 6 -14%
NEP/5BC6. Nephrops (West of Scotland) UK to set TAC 13,315 15,981 +20%
SBR/10- Red Seabream (Azores) EU to set TAC 4 3 -25%
SRX/89-C. Skates and Rays (8,9) EU to set TAC 13 13 0%
USK/1214EI Tusk (1,2,14) UK to set TAC 5 5 0%

Annex Table 9: Special cases

TAC code Common name Annual negotiation TAC-setting forum 2024 UK quota (tonnes) 2025 UK quota (tonnes) % Change in quota (2025 vs. 2024)
COD/1/2B. Cod (Svalbard) Quota under the Treaty of Paris 3,075 2,556 -17%
RED/1/2INT Redfish (International 1,2) NEAFC 3,964 N/A [footnote 52] N/A

  1. UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2024 - GOV.UK – Average £ per tonne is calculated for each UK quota using live weight landing tonnage and landed value at the first point of sale; see data table ‘UK fleet landings by rectangle stock port and EEZ 2020 - 2024’. ↩

  2. Relative stability is the mechanism by which TACs are shared between EU Member States under the Common Fisheries Policy. Each Member State receives a set percentage of the EU’s total quota in each stock. ↩

  3. The Hague Preference is a mechanism under the Common Fisheries Policy designed to adjust fishing quota allocations for the UK and the Republic of Ireland when certain TACs fell below determined trigger levels. ↩

  4. 2020 is used as the UK’s final year as an EU Member State. This share is primarily based on the relative stability sharing mechanism, but also includes invocations of the Hague Preference in that year, as well as contribution to/benefit from the EU’s quota transfer agreements with countries such as Norway. ↩

  5. UK landings for each year between 2019 and 2024 (UK sea fisheries annual statistics - GOV.UK) taken as a percentage of the quota available at the start of that year, and applied to the 2026 opening UK quotas. ↩

  6. UK mackerel quota figures taken from third country transfers and Fisheries: agreed records of consultations and distribution reports for North-East Atlantic mackerel, blue whiting and Norwegian spring spawning herring 2026 - GOV.UK   ↩

  7. Coastal State negotiations on the mackerel TAC for 2026 are ongoing at the time of writing and so provisional figures are used in this report. ↩

  8. Monthly UK sea fisheries statistics - GOV.UK – 2025 UK and foreign vessels landings by UK port and UK vessel landings abroad: provisional data. ↩

  9. As there were no UK landings of blue shark and swordfish in 2024, prices based on EU vessel average landings are used to estimate the potential value of the quota. ↩

  10. NAFO record of the reopening of the fishery in area 3L: comdoc24-17 Re-openingFisheryCodDiv2J3KL ↩

  11. 30 June 2025: Fishing opportunities for British fishing boats: determinations published in 2025 - GOV.UK ↩

  12. The TAC for Clyde herring will be set during 2026 and will run until the end of the year. This TAC has not yet been set, hence quota for Clyde herring is excluded in the 2026 values shown in Table 6. ↩

  13. Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Agreement for 2026 - regjeringen.no ↩

  14. Data from 2024 is still provisional, hence 2023 data has been used and is sourced from the 2024 Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet report published by Seafish.  ↩

  15. English Channel Sprat and North Sea Sprat are mid-year TACs. Their quotas, from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, are included in this report. ↩

  16. Excludes 250t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 50t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  17. Excludes 30t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 50t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  18. Excludes 5t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 15t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  19. Excludes 5t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 5t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  20. Excludes 11t outward quota transfer to the EU. ↩

  21. Excludes 7t outward quota transfer to the EU. ↩

  22. Excludes 100t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 560t outward quota transfer to Norway.  ↩

  23. Excludes 30t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 250t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  24. TAC available from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025.  ↩

  25. TAC available from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. ↩

  26. Includes 150t inward quota transfer from the EU. ↩

  27. Excludes 2t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 2t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  28. Excludes 2t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 2t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  29. Excludes 31t outward quota transfer to the EU. ↩

  30. TAC available from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.  ↩

  31. TAC available from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. ↩

  32. TAC available from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.  ↩

  33. TAC available from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. ↩

  34. Excludes 25t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 200t outward quota transfer to Norway.  ↩

  35. Excludes 5t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 250t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  36. Excludes 200t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  37. Excludes 20t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  38. Excludes 375t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands, later reduced by 287t to 88t as per the Addendum to the Agreed Record signed on 5 December 2025 Agreed record of fisheries consultations between the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands for 2025 ↩

  39. Excludes 110t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and includes 614t inward quota transfer from Norway. ↩

  40. Includes 43t inward quota transfer from Norway. ↩

  41. Includes 61t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands and 142t inward quota transfer from Norway. ↩

  42. Includes 62t inward quota transfer from Norway. ↩

  43. Includes 7,917t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands and 18,321t inward quota transfer from Norway. ↩

  44. Includes 43t inward quota transfer from the Faroe Islands and 8,058t combined inward quota transfer from Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. ↩

  45. Excludes 19t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  46. Excludes 40t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands. ↩

  47. Excludes 700t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 360t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  48. Excludes 900t outward quota transfer to the Faroe Islands and 400t outward quota transfer to Norway. ↩

  49. The 2026 TAC for Clyde herring will not be set until later in 2026. ↩

  50. Fishery runs from 1 September 2025 to 31 January 2026, or until the TAC is caught. ↩

  51. The 2026 TAC for Blackwater herring will not be set until later in 2026. ↩

  52. The 2026 TAC for International Redfish (1,2) will not be set until later in 2026. ↩

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