The Fisheries Ministers of the two nations, Einar K. Gudfinnsson for Iceland and Torbjorn Jacobsen for the Faroes, met in Torshavn last week and have since concluded a fisheries agreement for the remainder of this year.

The deal includes several species of fish, but the tonnages involved are not generally huge.

The Faroese fleet will be allowed to catch up to 30,000 tonnes of capelin in Iceland waters and both nations are permitted to fish for blue whiting in each others grounds, but Iceland is being restricted to operating a maximum of 12 vessels in Faroese waters.

Last year, Faroese trawlers were allowed to take up 5,600 tonnes of groundfish in Icelandic territorial waters and included in this is a maximum allowance of 1,200 tonnes of cod. In return for this, the Icelandic fleet will be able to catch 2,000 tonnes of Shetland herring and 1,300 tonnes of mackerel off the Faroe islands.

The is part of a closer bond of co-operation on fisheries and other trade issues between the two countries, forged after prime ministers from the two countries met in Reykjavik recently and forged new maritime boundaries in areas where their 200 mile limits overlap, effectively ending a limits disagreement stretching back for several years.

In his speech, the Faroese premier Joannes Eidesdgaard told how his country admired their Nordic neighbours for their innovation and ambition, adding: "In more recent times, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have been both partners when speaking of fisheries, but always our dealings with each other have been handled with a high degree of respect and even fondness, clearly proving the point that our nations share such strong cultural and personal bonds."

The deal will be broadly welcomed by the Icelandic trawler owners and their crews, who have lost a lot of their income from the big cuts on cod catches imposed last year, and are now being further affected by soaring fuel costs.

There was a bit of relief last week with the start of the lobster season off south west Iceland, coupled with a small increase in the quota from 1,800 to 1,900 tonnes. Fishing is reported to be excellent.

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