Sustainable Management of Marine Recourses

Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen

Responsible Fisheries – Norway’s commitment, London 19 October 2006

Dear colleague, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to address this seminar on the important subject of sustainable management of living marine resources. This is a topic which is a main priority in the Norwegian government's fisheries policy, and I am happy to see that there is a growing interest in these matters from society at large.

Fisheries is an important industry in Norway

Throughout Norwegian history, fisheries have been the very basis of life and culture along the coast, and many of our coastal communities are still completely dependent on the fish resources. The fisheries sector represents one of Norway’s most important export industries.

A total of 95% of Norwegian seafood products are exported to some 150 countries around the world. In 2005 the value of Norwegian seafood exports was 3.7 billion euros.

This clearly demonstrates how important it is for Norway to conduct our fishery in a sustainable manner. I will use this opportunity to present an outline of the foundation of my country's management regime. Following this, I will briefly talk about the main challenge to fisheries today - illegal fishery.

The Norwegian management regime

Scientific advice

First of all, Norwegian resource management is based upon the principles of long-term sustainable harvesting. This is based on the best scientific advice available, taking into account the principle of the precautionary approach and sustainable use.

The International Council for Exploration of the Sea – ICES - is the key institution for providing scientific advice and quota recommendations. Before negotiations between Norway and other states take place, scientists from different countries have carried out research and studies.

Quota negotiations

After ICES has presented its yearly recommendations for the different stocks, the quota negotiations between Norway and other states take place. The most important of these negotiations are the negotiations between Norway and Russia concerning the stocks in the Barents Sea and the negotiations between Norway and the European Commission concerning the shared stocks in the North Sea. The negotiations are conducted on an annual basis, from October to December.

Control, enforcement and strict regulations

When the quotas are determined, we need to focus on how to conduct our fishery. We place great emphasis on resource control, whose primary task is to provide information on all catches of fish within the jurisdiction of Norwegian waters.

The Directorate of Fisheries has the responsibility for controlling resources. Tasks include quayside inspections, sales inspections, post landing audits, inspectors at sea, satellite surveillance and quota controls.

Over the past 35 years the Norwegian fisheries industry has developed from unregulated fishing to a thoroughly regulated industry. The technological revolution following the Second World War has lead to a very efficient fishing fleet.

Measures like quotas and licensing have been introduced in order to prevent over-fishing and depletion of resources.  We therefore have very strict regulations, and today nearly all stocks with commercial value are regulated. For more details on this topic, I refer to the lecture later today by Deputy Director Liv Holmefjord from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.

An important part of our management system is the Norwegian Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is responsible for exercising resource control at sea. When you consider that the ocean areas subject to Norwegian fisheries’ jurisdiction and surveillance are six times the size of the Norwegian mainland, it is no surprise that this is a formidable task.

You will learn more about this topic when Commander Senior Grade Steve Olsen from the Norwegian Coast Guard gives his presentation later today.

We aim for a management regime that ensures that the various fisheries in Norway are conducted according to the book and within the total allowable catch for each stock. There is a growing interest in these matters among society at large, politicians, NGOs and consumers, to mention a few.

And the attention is indeed welcome. We have a common interest in these issues, and I wish to emphasize that we understand consumers’ demands for information about fisheries products. And the consumer's interest is of utmost importance to us.

However, no system is perfect. We are humble in that regard. Therefore we will continue to work to improve our management regime in order to ensure that Norwegian fishery products are fished in a sustainable and legal manner.

Precautionary approach and long-term management plans

While a precautionary approach in fisheries management has been pursued in Norway since the late 1990s, efforts to implement an ecosystem based approach are more recent. In that regard, development and effective implementation of long-term management plans are critical.

In cooperation with especially Russia and the EU, we have implemented such management plans for several stocks in the North Sea and in the Barents Sea.

When it comes to the Norwegian arctic cod, the joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission has adopted a rule for setting the annual total allowable catch for cod. We have also agreed upon a management rule for Norwegian arctic haddock.

It is important for me to underline that Norwegian arctic cod is one of the few remaining cod stocks in reasonably good condition. Also the haddock and saithe stock in the Barents Sea are in good shape. I can also mention the large and sound stocks of Norwegian spring spawning herring and blue whiting. In others words, we must have done something right.

Regarding Norwegian arctic cod, there is, as you know, a major problem and this is the situation regarding IUU-fishing. The fight against IUU-fishing has our highest priority.

IUU-fishing, our greatest challenge

Still, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the most serious problems facing the management of marine fish stocks at present. The challenge is global. Developing countries in particular, are victims of illegally caught fish that takes jobs away from coastal regions and undermines viable markets and state revenue.

Many countries are concerned about and determined to fight, IUU fishing. One very central contribution to joint work to curb IUU fishing has been the work of the High Seas task Force.

The Task Force was established in 2003 by a group of fisheries ministers and international NGOs who decided to work together to develop an action plan designed to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing on the high seas.

In this effort, Mr Ben Bradshaw was very central, and I wish to applaud him for the work carried out in this project.

For the Norwegian Government, the fight against IUU fisheries is on top of the political agenda because of the problems we face in the Barents Sea.

The Barents Sea has been a source of food and income for vulnerable coastal communities in the north for several millennia. Now, however, IUU fishing has become a threat to an entire region, and for all European fishermen who have found income in this region. This affects one of the most valuable fish stocks in the world, The Norwegian arctic Cod.

Estimates from the Barents Sea indicate that last year around 101 000 tonnes of cod were subject to IUU fishing. This is approximately 20% of the total allowable catch for this stock, and will lead to reduced quotas for cod in the Barents Sea for the next year.

The Norwegian Government is doing its outmost to deal with this problem, but without improved flag state responsibility and port state control, efforts will be futile. We have learned that implementing effective measures is much harder than it might seem to be. In moving from words to action, we have discovered literally hundreds of practical problems of legislation, international cooperation and enforcement of measures.

What then, should and could we do to stop IUU fishing? Based on our experience in the Barents Sea, allow me to outline some of what we consider to be the most important measures.

First of all, we have strengthened control measures both at sea and in the rest of the value chain. But we can not do this alone.

In order to stop illegal fishing and -transhipment at sea, the key is international cooperation on Port state control and flag state responsibility.

This means that no vessel can land fish in a foreign port before the flag state can confirm that the catch is taken within the quota and registered. A system of port state control means that both the port state and flag state must take responsibility and that all ports will be closed for illegally caught fish. I expect the NEAFC to adopt this scheme in the annual meeting here in London next month.

A system of port state control will also mean increased transparency so that data on fish catches, landings and distribution is available for all states. We must abandon all national obstacles that stop the flow of information concerning fish catches, landings and distribution;

In short, we must create a NORM: that IUU fishing is wrong, that IUU landings of fish should never take place in any country, that no supermarket should sell illegal fish – and that consumers should be certain that they do not purchase illegal fish.

Traceability

There is a growing demand for traceability, because the consumers want to know when and where the fish is caught, and whether it is caught legally. Importers request proof that the seafood is safe and stems from sustainable fisheries.

In addition to control at sea and when the fish is landed, market mechanisms are important tools for combating the problem with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. (The IUU-problem). Keywords in this matter are traceability and proper labelling of products from legal fisheries.

This requires international co-operation. More specifically, there is a need to develop harmonised and compatible systems and infrastructures for traceability of fish all the way through the value chain – from the fishing vessel of the exporting country to the supermarket in the importing country.

Norwegian research institutions have been central in the process of developing a European standard for electronic traceability in the fisheries sector. The EU project TraceFish created standards for the registration and transmission of information to ensure traceability in the seafood industry.

This standard is now about to be implemented by the industry in Norway. It has initiated several pilot studies that hopefully will tell us how traceability can be a tool for securing safe seafood and preventing illegal fishing.

Closing remarks

We know that only through sound management and harvesting practises, will we be able to win the consumer’s confidence, and furthermore ensure that the consumers will be able to enjoy delicacies from our clean waters and productive oceans for the foreseeable future.

Finally I want to inform you that we have established the website fisheries.no. The site is Norway's official website on seafood safety and resource and aquaculture management.

The main target groups are journalists, non-governmental organisations, politicians and authorities in other countries as well as purchasing agents in food industry enterprises and environmentally-aware consumers. I hope you will use this site to find information.

Thank you for your attention!