(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
This summer, the first fishery in Norway was certified as sustainable by the international environmental organization Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The export committee for fish aims to improve the industry's reputation by obtaining a stamp of approval for Norwegian herring, mackerel, cod and haddock.
– If these applications are approved, we have every reason to be satisfied on behalf of the Norwegian fishing industry, says marine biologist Nina Jensen in the World Wilderness Fund (WWF).
If so, about half of the wild fish landed in Norway can be traded with an MSC logo on the pack. It is soaring above what is the case in the fishing industry worldwide. According to the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) own figures, only a fraction of the world's fish are caught within environmentally decent limits.
- We estimate that only between eight and nine percent of what is fished for human consumption is taken in fisheries that are long-term sustainable, states the organization's communications director Simon Edwards.
A rarity
The now eco-labeled winch represents 11 per cent of all wild-caught Norwegian fish, and 225.000 tonnes of it were taken up in 2007. Primarily, the fishery means that the stock is not exploited so that it goes down indefinitely, but MSC also has other criteria . For example, requirements are that the gear must not destroy the seabed, that the local ecosystem must not be damaged and that no by-catch should occur to an extent that damages other species.
Worldwide, it is almost a rarity that such considerations are taken into account. The capacity of the world's fishing fleet is 2,5 times greater than the sea's annual reproductive capacity. A quarter of the world's population is, or is about to be, overfished. The most well-known example is the cod stock off the east coast of Canada, which has been gone since the 1980s without showing any signs of returning.
Politicians and bureaucrats regularly set quotas that marine scientists believe are unjustifiable, which is also done by the Norwegian authorities in many contexts. In addition, these quotas are very often illegally fished out. Large marine areas are unregulated, and many countries provide subsidies to their own vessels engaged in predatory fishing in international waters. Along our own coast, we have repeatedly seen how small fish are dumped because trawlers want to fill their legal quotas with bigger fish. Within the EU this is even legal.
Many species have been depleted to a level where they have lost their function in the local ecosystem. There will be smaller fish in particular – both of the large species and of large individuals in smaller species.
Yellow cod turns green
But there are also good signs, and one of them is that the cod stock in the northern Norwegian waters is improving, Nina Jensen states. It has actually become so much bigger that WWF is considering moving the Arctic cod from yellow to green list the next time they release their fishing guide to Norwegian consumers. The stock in the Barents Sea is shared between Norway and Russia, and in Norway the alleged Russian poaching has raised great concern.
- An alarmingly high taxation, together with, among other things, an excessive proportion of endangered coastal cod as a by-catch, has meant that we have recommended Norwegian consumers to be careful when buying Arctic cod. But now it seems that this fishing may be declared healthy the next time the guide is published, says Jensen.
- The researchers' latest data shows that the population has grown. This is probably due to a number of natural conditions in the relevant sea areas, but there is also no doubt that the illegal fishing has declined sharply, she points out.
The same has been concluded by the Export Committee for Fish. Therefore, MSC certification of Norwegian Arctic cod and haddock is now being applied for. In addition, an application for certification of spring spawning herring, North Sea herring and mackerel is also under consideration.
- The application applies to cod both from the Barents Sea and from the traditional Lofoten fishing, Tor Bjørklund Larsen explains.
- Those who will do the work on behalf of on behalf of the MSC, must of course consider the entire population, including the part that parishes to the Russian territories. However, only the Norwegian fishery is to be certified, in other words the Norwegian catches, the Norwegian fishing methods and the Norwegian control routines. From experience, this can take some time. With saithe fishing, the certification took almost two years.
- Wins in a field of losers
An application to MSC is not in itself a guarantee that the environmental approval will eventually be granted, but the search process is a good thing in itself. This means that the sustainability of the fishery in question is properly reviewed and assessed, Nina Jensen of the VVF points out.
- Is Norway simply good at fisheries management?
- Yes, if you compare with other countries, but there are limits to how much we should brag. It's a bit like naming a winner in a field of losers. We would like to see the authorities intervene and stop fishing for coastal cod, eel and lobster, for example. But the growth of the cod stock in the Barents Sea, one of the last large cod stocks worldwide, gives us an opportunity to combine good fishing with decent management in the years to come, she emphasizes.
