Danish fishing is finding the deadlock in the EU-Norway fisheries negotiations deeply frustrating as both sides remain in deadlock
The EU and Norway ended their fifth round of negotiations on reaching a fisheries agreement for 2023 as they started on Friday, in deadlock.
Both parties agreed to ‘pause’ the talks over the weekend and a return to the table today, Monday 13 February, but as an agreement looks as distant as ever, the situation is far from ideal for the fishing boats in Denmark.
Svend-Erik Andersen, chairman of the Danish Fisheries Association, calls the situation deeply frustrating, and he very much hopes that an agreement will be reached this week.
“The fact that there is no access to Norwegian waters has huge costs for Danish fishing. It affects both the fishermen who usually have their fishing in Norwegian waters, and it affects the fishermen who fish in Danish waters, because the fishing is compressed into a much smaller area than usual,” says Svend-Erik Andersen.
“The situation also emphasises the need to create a more long-lasting model, so that you avoid ending up in the same situation next year.”
The Danish Fisheries Association believes that a model with temporary quotas should be introduced so that fishing can continue across waters, even if the negotiations reach a deadlock, as has happened again this year.
“It is unsustainable that year after year we end up in a situation where fishermen are deprived of the opportunity to fish because of political disagreements. It is both expensive for the fishermen and bad for the fish stocks,” says Svend-Erik Andersen.