This year's agreement was signed by the head of the Norwegian delegation and Secretary General of Norway's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Mette I. Wikborg.
Photo: Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
After tough negotiations, Norway and Russia have finally reached an understanding on a fisheries agreement for 2026. The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans emphasized that this agreement is crucial to ensuring the responsible and sustainable management of fish stocks in the Barents Sea.
"The agreement is particularly important at a time when we have seen a significant reduction in the cod quota over several years. We have now set a cod quota for 2026 at a level that contributes to rebuilding the stock," said Norway's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Marianne Sivertsen Næss.
"This year's negotiations have been challenging," Minister Sivertsen Næss continued. "The listing of the two Russian shipping companies has left its mark on the negotiations, but I am pleased that, despite this, we have reached an agreement that will contribute to the sustainable management of the important fishery resources in the north," she added.
As previously reported by WeAreAquaculture, the Norwegian-Russian agreement is Norway's largest and most important bilateral fisheries agreement. Therefore, while acknowledging the extraordinary circumstances, Norway exempted fisheries cooperation from its sanctions against Russia.
Like the Minister in her statements, the note on the agreement from the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans also emphasized that the understanding is particularly important at a time when we have seen a significant reduction in cod quotas over several years.
Norway—which has just concluded another fisheries agreement for 2026 with the EU and the UK, with significant cuts in cod, herring, and saithe quotas—acknowledges that the cod quota for 2026 in the Barents Sea is the lowest since 1991.
The quota level for 2026 will mean a significant reduction in fishing pressure from 2025 to 2026, but Fisheries and Oceans Norway also noted that, after several years of significant quota cuts, the foundations now appear to be in place for a stock increase that will lead to slightly higher quotas in the coming years.
However, while Norway awaits the recovery it anticipates, cuts in cod quotas are already having an impact on its export results. As explained in the latest Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) report on Norwegian seafood exports for November, the prospect of significantly lower cod quotas in 2026 appears to have been reflected in the export price.
"Quota cuts are necessary to ensure that our wild fish stocks continue to be managed sustainably, but they also affect seafood exports. Lower volumes contributed to record-high prices for mackerel, herring and important cod products in November," explained NSC CEO Christian Chramer.
For 2026, the total quota for Northeast Arctic cod -which is allocated among Norway, Russia and third countries according to the same principles as in previous years- has been set at 285,000 tons. Compared with the 2025 quota, this represents a reduction of 16%. Norway's share of the cod quota for 2026 will be 139,827 tons.
When it comes to haddock, the total quota for 2026 has been set at 153,293 tons, representing an increase of 18% compared with the current year. Of these, 76,345 tons will correspond to Norway's quota. The haddock quota represents a solid increase compared with this year's level.
In the case of Greenland halibut—also known as blue halibut— the total quota has been set at 19,000 tonnes, which is the same level as for the current year. For this species, the quota allocated to Norway shall be 9,675 tons.
Likewise, a total quota of 69,177 tonnes has been set for redfish (Sebastes mentella) for 2026. Compared with this year's quota, this is a small increase of 3%. Norway's share of the redfish quota will be 47,807 tonnes.
Finally, the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans announced that the capelin fishery in the Barents Sea will not be opened in 2026 either.
One more year, the quota recommendations for 2026 for stocks jointly managed by Norway and Russia were prepared by the bilateral working group between the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO).
As the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans explained when negotiating the 2024 quota, although Norway usually negotiates its fishing quotas within the framework of the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES), since the participation of Russian scientists in ICES working groups was temporarily suspended, recommendations on quotas for stocks that the country manages jointly with Russia are drawn up in this bilateral working group.
As in previous years, the working group has followed internationally recognized methodologies and reference frameworks for population assessment and advice.
Furthermore, for another year, the parties agreed on a joint Norwegian-Russian research program for 2026 and the continuation of joint technical regulatory measures for fishing.
