Key facts about northern Atlantic fishing

The north Atlantic, and in particular the waters around Norway and Greenland, has a plentiful stock of cod and haddock for the UK’s fish & chip shops.

The UK imports most of the fish it eats and exports most of what it catches;

1. Cod and haddock are UK consumers' favourite fish;
2. These fish are found in large quantities in the distant waters north of the UK;
3. To provide British fish for our fish & chip shops, the UK’s trawler Kirkella needs access to quotas from Norway, Svalbard, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization);
4. If these quotas are unavailable, the UK will have to import even more of its cod and haddock from Norway and elsewhere. 
5. In the last two years the results of negotiations have been a disaster for the fleet.
6. 
   For 2026, the UK was allocated quotas of 850 tonnes of cod (and 200 tonnes bycatch) in North Norway, 2,556 tonnes of cod around Svalbard and 200 tonnes of cod/haddock at the Faroe Islands. This makes a grand total of 3,806 tonnes, compared with a total of 19,500 tonnes in 2018.