Faroese minister insists on allocating more fishing days to group 5B

Faroese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Fisheries Bárður á Steig Nielsen is standing by his decision to allocate additional fishing days to group 5B, despite criticism.

This year, group 5 vessels have caught roughly 42% of the total cod in Faroese waters, with group 5B accounting for about 16%. The minister has called this distribution unsatisfactory.

He argues that further restricting other groups in fishing days is necessary to protect juvenile fish stocks. Nielsen confirmed that only group 5B—not the entire group 5—will receive extra days, emphasizing that fishing in 5B largely supports Faroese culture and heritage.

Vessels in group 5B are coastal boats that are not fully industrialized.