EAPO’s NPWG Urges Stability in 2026 North Sea Herring Allocations

The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) has issued an addendum to its 2026 position paper, calling on the EU, the UK, and Norway to finalise a Long-Term Management Strategy (LTMS) for North Sea herring and to set next year’s Total Allowable Catch (TAC) at 329,906 tonnes.

The document, released on 24 October 2025 by the EAPO’s Northern Pelagic Working Group, reiterates the industry’s priority to preserve existing quota allocations between the three Coastal States. It warns that any new management model must protect current shares and deliver predictable, science-based catch limits to ensure both biological and economic sustainability.

Long-Term Management Based On ICES Advice

The call follows the publication of updated advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on 13 October 2025. That advice incorporated a harvest control rule jointly developed by the EU, the UK and Norway for a potential long-term management plan.

Under the proposed rule, annual TAC fluctuations would be restricted to no more than a 20 percent decrease or a 25 percent increase year-on-year, unless the spawning stock biomass falls below one million tonnes. The resulting TAC recommendation for 2026 is 329,906 tonnes — a figure the industry believes represents a sustainable balance between conservation and economic needs.

According to the EAPO, this approach would reduce the volatility that has characterised herring advice over the past decade and help stabilise the sector. The association stated that “now is the time for the three Coastal States involved to make good on their commitment to ensure long-term sustainability of both stock and sector.”

Industry Seeks Predictable Framework

The EAPO emphasised that an LTMS can only succeed if the three parties agree on a unified management framework that maintains existing allocation keys. The move to a single TAC, replacing the current structure of four sub-TACs divided by fleet, must, it said, be conditional upon the protection of national quota shares.

A stable North Sea herring stock remains vital to the socio-economic wellbeing of the pelagic catching and processing industries, as well as to coastal communities dependent on herring landings.

Environmental Pressures Must Be Considered

Beyond the TAC framework, the EAPO also urged greater attention to environmental factors that may affect the herring population. The group cited the increasing footprint of offshore windfarms and the rising abundance of predator species as pressures that warrant detailed ecosystem assessment.

ICES has previously cautioned that “no activities that have a negative impact on spawning habitats, such as extraction of gravel and building of windfarms, should be allowed unless the effects of these activities have been assessed and shown to be non-detrimental.” The EAPO echoed that warning, stressing the need for such analyses to form part of any future management plan.

The industry believes that the adoption of an LTMS based on the agreed harvest control rule would not only deliver sustainability but also reinforce confidence in international fisheries governance, provided that the TAC is implemented alongside equitable allocation and stronger ecosystem safeguards.