The Faroese longliner fleet has been dealt an economic blow as the global Flemish Cap cod quota will be slashed by 18 percent next year, dropping to a total of 12,452 tonnes. The decision, finalized at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) annual meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, imposes a restrictive framework under the banner of precautionary management.
For the Faroe Islands, NAFO’s latest conservation measure on cod means the national allocation will drop by 650 tonnes, plummeting from 3,433 tonnes this year down to 2,783 tonnes next year. The sharp reduction directly impacts specialized local longline vessels, which rely heavily on the Flemish Cap as a core distant-water destination during their annual rotations.
Market silver lining
However, industry analysts point to the upbeat trend in market prices which could soften the blow for vessel owners. Pushed by aggressive quota cuts across the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea, global Atlantic cod prices have surged to historic record highs, recently cracking 9,500 USD per metric tonne.
The tight global supply has already directly boosted the Faroese economy, with domestic cod export values jumping up by 25 percent as buyers pay premiums for high-quality whitefish. While longliners will bring home fewer fish from the Flemish Cap, the record-breaking value per kilogram means the financial impact of the 650-tonne loss may be substantially mitigated at market.
Protest over Grand Bank shrimp
While the cod reduction dominated the assembly, NAFO threw a lifeline to other sectors by officially lifting the decade-long commercial ban on Grand Bank shrimp, which has been shut down since 2015.
However, the reopening has instantly revived historic political friction in Tórshavn. The Faroe Islands were granted a token initial shrimp quota of just 18 tonnes. Local authorities have renewed their formal protest against the distribution framework, which relies on a temporary 1999 agreement. Faroese negotiators maintain that their extensive historical catch records legally justify a far greater share than other member states possess.
Secondary allocations
In addition to the primary cod and shrimp decisions, NAFO locked in several minor regional quotas for the Faroese fleet:
• Grand Bank Cod: A modest bump brings the total to 63 tonnes (an increase of 23 tonnes);
• Greenland Halibut: Secured at 182.8 tonnes;
• Redfish: Maintained at a highly restricted 69 tonnes.
Comparative scope
To put the Flemish Cap crisis into perspective, the newly reduced 2,783-tonne quota highlights the region’s position as a mid-tier asset within the broader Faroese fleet strategy. By comparison, the Flemish Cap now stands at less than half the size of the domestic Faroese home shelf cod quota (6,075 tonnes). Furthermore, it remains heavily overshadowed by the deep-sea fleet’s premier distant-water target in the Barents Sea, where combined bilateral agreements with Russia and Norway secure over 10,200 tonnes of cod annually.
In all likelihood, favorable market prices and access to alternative zones will be key to buffering the longliner fleet against the upcoming volume contraction.
