Nor-Fishing 2008 was officially opened this morning by HRH Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway.
The opening ceremony began with Nor-Fishing Foundation president Peter Gullestad welcoming visitors to the exhibition, followed by Mayor of Trondheim, Rita Ottervik.
Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, Helga Pedersen, then made her opening speech.
The Minister’s speech focused on the issue of discards. “Discard is currently one of the most serious threats against sustainable management,” she said. “This is in particular the case for those fish stocks we co-manage with the EU in the North Sea. We therefore want a further tightening of the rules governing discard of fish caught by foreign vessels in the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone.
“I want a requirement that all fish that are caught in Norwegian waters, also by foreign vessels, must be taken to port, regardless of which final port is used,” said the Minister.
She announced that Norway will be introducing new requirements meaning that vessels fishing in Norwegian waters can not discard fish caught there – this will be a condition for obtaining fishing licenses.
She also said that Norway is demanding further binding measures to reduce discard of all joint stocks, in connection with the annual quota negotiations between the EU and Norway this autumn.
“In essence, our goal is to manage our common marine resources in a way that ensures sustainability and environmental protection, while at the same time enabling the fishermen to make a healthy profit and promote activity, employment and settlement along the coast,” she said.
She was followed by HRH Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, who declared the exhibition officially open.
