Ole Christensen, member of the European Parliament Fisheries Committee, has officially opened the DanFish and DanAqua exhibition in Aalborg, Denmark.
In his opening speech, Mr Christensen spoke of the Common Fishery Policy reform, and said that the framework is now there for better regional decisions to be made and for less fish to be thrown away, but he noted the importance of not "replacing stupid European rules, with new stupid rules".
He said that as a member of the Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament, he will fight for more simple rules that correspond with the sector's demand.
He mentioned the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), and said that innovation and sustainable fishing will be funded through the EMFF.
Mr Christnesen noted the increasing importance of aquaculture, and said that in the context of decreasing fish stocks and increasing demand for fish, aquaculture is an important source of food. The fishery reform and the fishery fund should promote aquaculture, and he said that it is good that DanFish also supports aquaculture, in the form of DanAqua.
Finally he spoke of technology and the need for updated and valid data in the fishery sector. First of all, in order to set the right quotas, he said, this is an important part of EU management of fisheries, but also important for the sector to fish efficiently and in a sustainable way, is the technology. This is why he said that DanFish is an important place for companies to promote their products to the industry.
