Regulation and management
The Faroese fisheries governance is characterized by two fundamentally different management regimes. Local demersal species, most notably cod, haddock, and saithe, are regulated through the national fishing days system. This system allocates a defined number of allowable fishing days to different vessel groups, aiming to control total fishing effort rather than specifying fixed catch volumes. It is revised annually based on scientific assessments. Although important for local fleet segments and coastal communities, today the fishing-days system accounts for only around one-fifth of the total value of Faroese landings (Faroese Fisheries Inspection, n.d.).
By contrast, the bulk of Faroese fisheries revenue derives from pelagic species, including mackerel, Norwegian spring-spawning herring, and blue whiting. These pelagic fisheries are managed through total allowable catches negotiated in coastal-state forums, in which the Faroe Islands participate as an independent party. Another important sector is demersal fisheries in other countries’ waters, often traded for pelagic fisheries. National quota allocations determined in these negotiations and trades are distributed among Faroese vessels and companies in accordance with domestic regulations. As these agreements deliver approximately 80% of the total landing value, either directly or indirectly, international agreements play a decisive role in shaping annual harvest opportunities and commercial expectations.
Aquaculture is governed through a licensing system, with each farming site subject to environmental assessments, veterinary controls, and strict reporting requirements. Production is dominated by Atlantic salmon, and regulatory authorities closely monitor lice levels, disease risks, escape prevention, and the ecological carrying capacity of fjord systems. The Faroe Islands are the fifth-largest aquaculture producer in the world (Bjørndal and Mrdalo, 2023). In contrast to wild-capture fisheries, aquaculture production is more shaped by site availability, biosecurity standards, and market conditions than by stock-based harvest limits.
Recreational and personal-consumption fishing plays a relatively minor role in the Faroese context. It is regulated through gear restrictions, minimum sizes, and certain seasonal protections, although overall catch volumes are small and do not meaningfully affect stock dynamics.
The condition of Faroese fish stocks varies across species groups. Local demersal stocks such as cod and haddock have experienced periods of low biomass in recent decades and are often considered fully exploited or, in some years, overexploited, depending on recruitment patterns and environmental conditions. Local saithe has generally shown greater stability than other demersal species but is still monitored closely due to interannual variability. The structure of the fishing-days system reflects the need for adaptive management in response to these fluctuations.
Pelagic stocks, which account for most of the country’s landings, tend to be in healthier condition but remain subject to political and ecological uncertainty. While many pelagic stocks are assessed as fully exploited, their management is complicated by the absence of long-term binding agreements. The most important species for the Faroe Islands is the mackerel. And most coastal states have reached an agreement for mackerel as of 2026; however, total catches for the year still exceed biological advice, rendering the stock effectively overexploited. Changing oceanographic conditions have also altered migration routes, sometimes affecting access for Faroese vessels or shifting the distribution of catch opportunities among coastal states.
In addition to these major species, several emerging or underutilized resources, such as mesopelagic fishes, deep-sea species, and low-trophic aquaculture resources, including macroalgae, have attracted recent interest. Although these resources are still in the early stages of assessment and commercialization, they represent potential avenues for future diversification.