Press release
In the Public Hearing ‘Fisheries Relations with Norway’ organised by the Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament on Tuesday 28 January, PFA president Tim Heddema presented the state of play in the Coastal States sharing arrangements negotiations and highlighted the lack of a level playing field for pelagic fishers in the Northeast Atlantic.
In his presentation, he painted a worrying picture of the current overfishing of important pelagic fish stocks by third countries such as Norway, while emphasizing the need for unity and positive relationships to improve the current situation.
Heddema outlined that despite the shared ambitions of sustainable fishing and strong control and enforcement, as well as the positive wider relationship with Norway, the reality is that there is continuous overfishing of important pelagic stocks by some Coastal States. So much so that mackerel is approaching breaking point:
“Norway claims to be entitled to such higher levels and shares on the basis of geographic distribution of the stocks. This so-called zonal attachment concept is however very much flawed. The scientists involved in the collection of such data tell us clearly that too many caveats, gaps and uncertainties exist in these data. For this to be meaningful, data would have to be available for every zone, every life stage, every season, etc. Those same scientists say it is impossible to ever get there.”
Heddema stressed that it is important that the EU continues to stand its ground
“The EU industry stands firmly with the EU negotiators for championing the use of genuine, sustainable historic track records and interests as a sound basis for a sharing arrangement. In contrast, the current overfishing should not be accepted to count towards an increased fishing track record for those concerned.”
As it appears difficult to find solutions within the negotiations themselves, and the EU is faced with management partners who don’t seem to have much to win from entering into new comprehensive sharing arrangements, linking fisheries and markets can be an important factor:
“Other partners are downplaying the EU fishing interest, while they are themselves practicing overfishing, often not for direct human consumption, and while their products take up the larger part of the EU market. Therefore, EU institutions should adopt the amended EU Regulation on non-sustainable fishing practices as soon as possible. This is important, as the legal toolbox is quite empty.
In closing, Heddema reiterated that it will be very difficult to reach results in the short run, but that he believes there are ways to improve chances. He encouraged the European Commission to continue the EU-Norway High Level Dialogue and to concretely address sharing arrangements consultations in those meetings. He also stressed that the current partial agreement between the UK, Norway and Faroe Islands on mackerel cannot be a stepping stone towards comprehensive agreement, since it only serves to cement excessive, inflated claims without leaving enough room for other parties
“Despite the many differences, I also consider the relationship between the EU and Norwegian industry, but also the Norwegian government, professional, open and positive. Perhaps now the time has come to step onto the pitch as industries and play some ball ourselves. I am happy to see Norwegian initiatives to that end” he concluded.
Date Posted: 30th January 2025