Negotiators for Norway and Russia failed to reach an agreement for managing key shared Atlantic fish stocks this week, forcing the talks to move beyond their expected Friday conclusion.
The Joint Russian-Norwegian Fisheries Commission, which meets annually to negotiate quotas on Barents Sea cod, capelin, haddock and other species, was initially slated to complete its work this week.
Mette Wikborg, a lead negotiator and advisor to Norway's Ministry of Trade and Fisheries, told IntraFish sister publication Fiskeribladet the negotiations could not be concluded "for practical reasons."
The talks, which are being conducted via video conference, will continue Monday, Wikborg said.
Dark cloud
This year's quota negotiations are occurring under a dark cloud. Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year has been widely condemned in Norway and around the world. Additionally, a series of events, including recent port closures affecting Russian vessels looking to dock in Norwegian ports, has made the talks atypically tense.
Norwegian negotiators refused to travel to Russia for in-person discussions.
It's unclear if the tension will have an impact on the final outcome of the talks, but several observers believe the cooperation -- which stretches back nearly 50 years -- will not be shaken by the geopolitics.
Earlier this spring, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) booted Russia from its membership in response to the Ukraine invasion. Norway continues to use the ICES guidance for its stock advice, as well as Russian joint research, in establishing quotas for the next season.
- Since the mid-1970s, Norway and Russia have cooperated on the management of joint fish stocks in the Barents Sea, with North-East Arctic cod as the most commercially important stock.
- Delegations from both countries meet annually in the Mixed Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission to determine total quotas and lay down general guidelines for the practice of fishing. Cooperation also takes place in subcommittees and working groups.
- The fisheries cooperation between Norway and Russia has survived both the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union and tough negotiations between the parties, and has been referred to as one of the biggest success stories in international fisheries policy.
In September, early bilateral negotiations hinted at a Barents Sea cod quota for 2023 of 566,784 metric tons -- a decline of 20 percent.
Researchers at the Institute of Marine Research estimate a spawning cod stock of around 800,000 metric tons, the lowest since 2008. Just nine years ago, the spawning stock was estimated at 2.3 million metric tons.
If no agreement is reached between Norway and Russia, one consequence is that Russia might not have access to the Norwegian economic zone.
"It is something the Russians feared very much," Anne-Kristin Jorgensen, a senior researcher for the Fridtjof Nansen Institute told Fiskeribladet in early October.
The negotiations are being watched closely. This week, the annual Groundfish Forum statistics were released, showing a sharp expected decline in several countries.
Cod prices have been at exorbitantly high prices this year, with some executives fearing they will soon take a toll on consumption.
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