Norwegian–Russian Fisheries Cooperation Back on Its Feet

On Friday afternoon, Norway and Russia announced that they had agreed on fishing quotas for their shared stocks in the Barents Sea for 2027. At a time when most cooperation between Russia and its European neighbours has come to a halt, this is noteworthy in itself.

What can we learn from this year's session of the Joint Norwegian–Russian Fisheries Commission, held on neutral ground in Istanbul? Here are three pieces of good news, one piece of moderately good news and one piece of bad news.

First, the good news.

The commission, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has once again managed to agree on quotas. Last year, an agreement was reached only at the eleventh hour, after Russia had threatened unilateral management measures unless Norway reversed its decision to deny vessels from two major Russian fishing companies renewed licences in the Norwegian economic zone, following their inclusion on the EU sanctions list.

Norway did not reverse its decision. Russia nevertheless chose continued cooperation over going it alone in the Barents Sea.

This tells us something about how important the arrangement is to Russia. The largest fish are found in the western parts of the Barents Sea, in Norwegian waters, and cooperation with Norway gives Russian fishers access to them.

At the same time, the commercially important cod stock is indisputably shared between Norway and Russia, as important nursery grounds are located in Russian waters further east.

The second piece of good news is that the commission was able to meet in person for the first time since 2019.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the commission had to remain in what might be called 'Covid mode', conducting its meetings online. It would have been practically difficult and politically close to impossible for Norway to send an official delegation to Russia or receive a Russian delegation at home.

One of the hallmarks of Norwegian–Russian fisheries cooperation has always been the personal relationships, informal networks and creative exchanges that take place during commission meetings. Although the participants have been deprived of this three-dimensional communication for six years, they have continued to benefit from relationships established over decades.

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The concern has been what would happen when experienced commission members eventually retired and were replaced by people who had never met their counterparts in person.

The third piece of good news is that Russia appears, for the most part, to be continuing its participation in the commission's working bodies, which it announced last year that it would withdraw from.

This year, the commission established working groups on research, enforcement and the preparation of the protocol. The first two are pillars of any fisheries management regime.

The Norwegian delegation regretted Russia's unwillingness to establish a working group on statistics, as had previously been customary. Catch statistics are still being exchanged, however, so one might wonder whether the Russians simply felt they had to do something to continue punishing Norway.

Now for the moderately good news.

The cod quota will increase for the first time in several years. It is encouraging that the stock appears to be approaching its lowest point, but there is a slightly bitter aftertaste.

For the second consecutive year, the commission has set the cod quota somewhat above scientific advice, although the deviation is relatively small. The spawning stock also remains below the precautionary level.

Barents Sea cod can still be described as the world's largest cod stock, but Canadian cod now has a larger spawning stock. The Norwegian–Russian stock retains its leading position thanks to its older age groups.

Finally, the bad news.

The commission has once again failed to agree on a harvest control rule for the Barents Sea shrimp stock.

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Such rules link quota levels to biological reference points for spawning stock size and fishing mortality. They are among the most important tools in modern fisheries management.

The shrimp stock itself is in good condition. The immediate problem is that harvest control rules are a prerequisite for certification under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) fisheries standard, which in turn is necessary to access the most attractive markets.

Fisheries may receive certification subject to conditions that must normally be fulfilled within five years. Establishing a harvest control rule was precisely such a condition when the Barents Sea shrimp fisheries received MSC certification quite a few years ago.

MSC has already granted more extensions than are good for its reputation as a sustainability standard. It is highly uncertain whether further ways of circumventing the deadline can be found.

This is a serious situation for Norwegian shrimp fisheries, which compete with MSC-certified shrimp from Greenland.

All in all, however, good news from Istanbul.

At a time of war, sanctions and deteriorating relations between Russia and Europe, the Barents Sea fisheries regime continues to function. Not without friction, and certainly not without problems, but sufficiently well to demonstrate the enduring importance of managing shared natural resources together.