email editor
Access to Norwegian waters is essential says Danish fishermen on the one month anniversary of being locked out of traditional grounds
Today, the Danish fishermen can mark a boring anniversary, writes the Danish Fishermen’s Association.
In a statement released today, they say that this is because the first month of the year has passed, and this means that the EU and the 150 Danish fishing vessels, which normally fish in Norwegian waters, have not had access to their fishing grounds for a month.
The negotiations on an agreement for 2023, which started back in October 2022, have reached a dead end. This means that a fisheries agreement between the EU and Norway has not yet been reached, and Danish fishermen have been taken hostage in the negotiations. This has unreasonable negative consequences for Danish fishing, according to the Danish Fishermen’s Association.
“It is deeply frustrating that we are once again in a situation where the Danish fishermen have to pay the price for the fact that the EU and Norway have not agreed on an agreement for fishing from the turn of the year. The fact that there is no access to important fishing grounds in the North Sea and Skagerrak is in itself a problem. It only gets worse that the fishermen in Skagerrak, for example, are now lumped together in a smaller area than is appropriate,” says chairman Svend-Erik Andersen.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time that the negotiations between the EU and Norway make life miserable for the Danish fishermen. In 2021, the Danish fishermen first gained access to fish in Norwegian waters at the end of March.
The negotiations between the EU and Norway should actually have been concluded in December so that fishing in Norwegian waters could continue in 2023 from the turn of the year. Unfortunately, the parties have not been able to reach an agreement. Not least because people disagree about conditions in the Atlantic including the blue whiting fishery, says the Association.
The DFA say that fact that the negotiations between the EU and Norway have come to a standstill is also linked to Brexit.
“Brexit continues to plague Danish fishing. Unfortunately, this situation is an example of that, and it is a real shame that it affects Danish and Norwegian fishermen who just want to look after their work, says Svend-Erik Andersen,” chairman of the Danish Fishermen’s Association.
Make an appointment now
The Danish Fishermen’s Association calls for the parties to come back to the negotiating table as soon as possible and get an agreement in place so that fishing can start again as soon as possible. For the current situation, neither the fish stocks nor the fishermen benefit.
“I encourage the negotiators to come back to the negotiating table and reach an agreement as soon as possible. I know the Danish dealers are doing everything they can, and they should be praised for that. Because right now the situation is totally unsustainable for the Danish fishermen, and it is also not a gain for the fish stocks that fishing is concentrated in a smaller area than where fishing normally takes place,” says Svend-Erik Andersen.
Source: Press Release
