Faroe Islands Fisheries and Quota Diplomacy — 2026-09-28
No agreement was reached on 2027 pelagic quotas at last week's coastal states meeting in London, with parties set to reconvene in October. Meanwhile, fresh statistics show Faroese salmon exports surging by nearly 1bn DKK over the past year, even as pelagic fishmeal and herring shortages push raw material prices up across the North Atlantic.
Faroe Islands Fisheries and Quota Diplomacy — 2026-09-28
Top developments
London coastal states meeting ends without 2027 deal
No agreement was reached on pelagic fish at a coastal states meeting in London last week, according to Kringvarp Føroya reporting picked up by Daily Northern. The parties will meet again in October. Iceland, Norway, the UK and the Faroe Islands currently have an agreement on mackerel, and the outcome of the October round will determine how the Faroes' 13.35-percent mackerel share evolves into 2027 — directly affecting the settlement value that funds island fisheries.
Salmon exports surge by nearly one billion DKK
Faroe Islands' total export value reached almost 14.5bn DKK (1.94bn EUR) between August 2025 and July 2026, up 1.5bn DKK — nearly 12 percent — on the previous 12-month period. Exports of farmed salmon alone rose by nearly 1bn DKK (over 17 percent) to roughly 6.8bn DKK, on a volume increase of more than 25,000 tonnes.
Low quotas push herring and fishmeal prices up
FiskerForum reports that historically low quotas and catches in the North Atlantic have hit FF Skagen and Scandic Pelagic, creating an unusually large gap between customer demand and available raw material. Prices are rising, and a shortage of MSC-certified herring could have consequences for supermarket shelves. This tightness supports stronger landing prices for Atlanto-Scandian herring — a key Faroese pelagic stock — but also constrains volumes available to the islands' fleet.
Weather-hit Faroese mackerel week
In the latest week, Faroese vessels landed more than 1,100 tonnes of mackerel caught in Norwegian waters, with weather forcing several boats early into port, including at Ellingsøya northeast of Ålesund. The week before, eleven Faroese vessels landed a combined 1,762 tonnes — good fishing overall, but modest loads averaging just 160 tonnes per vessel for such a capacity-heavy pelagic fleet.
Local view
Kringvarp Føroya (KVF) was the source for the London talks breakdown, which local outlet Daily Northern relayed with the note that coastal states will reconvene in October. FiskerForum's Danish-language reporting stresses both the practical dependency — most of the Faroese mackerel catch is taken in Norwegian waters — and the squeeze on herring and fishmeal processors from historically low quotas.
Context & numbers
- 2026 mackerel TAC agreed by Norway, UK, Faroe Islands and Iceland: 299,010 tonnes
- Faroe Islands' initial mackerel share: 13.35 percent
- Faroe Islands' herring share under the Norway–Faroes sharing agreement: 10 percent (Norway 64.2 percent)
- Annual Faroese exports (Aug 2025–Jul 2026): ~14.5bn DKK, up ~12 percent; salmon ~6.8bn DKK
- Monthly exports dipped to 1,170.2m DKK in June from 1,267.7m DKK in May 2026
On the radar
- October coastal states meeting on 2027 pelagic quotas — the key date for Faroese mackerel and herring shares
- MSC-certified herring supply — sustainability of labelling/volumes is under strain given low quotas
- Bakkafrost trajectory — earlier in 2026 the company raised harvest guidance to 97,000t on record Faroese Q1 volumes; watch for Q3 reporting and continued contrast with Scottish operations, where a 48% mortality event at one site was reported in mid-September
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