Norway vows to defend its northern rocks

The success of the deal reached by EU fisheries ministers on Wednesday (19 December) depends on co-operation with other countries. Jarle Hetland talks to Norway’s fisheries minister.

Helga Pedersen, Norway’s minister for fisheries and coastal affairs, has warned the EU that her country is bound to combat illegal fishing in its northern waters, in particular in and around the disputed areas near Svalbard and in the Barents Sea. Norway had, she said, international law on its side.

Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, an overseas territory of Norway. Signatories to the 1920 Svalbard Treaty have access to its resources but its interpretation is disputed. Referring to illegal fishing in and around Svalbard, Pedersen sent a warning to European fishermen, saying: "We are opposed to illegal fishing and over-fishing altogether."

Pedersen referred in particular to Spain, since most high-profile arrests concerning illegal fishing around Svalbard in recent years have involved Spanish vessels. Norway insists that those accused or suspected of illegal activities around Svalbard should be prosecuted in Norway, but the Spanish authorities want to prosecute them in Spain. The European Commission has repeatedly supported the Spaniards on this point.

Pedersen said that her country put much emphasis on the equal treatment of fishermen, that the same rules applied to all nationalities and that eventual irregularities should be dealt with in the Norwegian judicial system.

"It is on this that Norway and Spain have different viewpoints," she said, "although we agree that law-breakers should be punished wherever they are from."

She added: "Concerning Svalbard and the use of resources there, Norway and Spain have different viewpoints, we have international law on our side and the fight against illegal fishing has nothing to do with the protected [fisheries] zone.

"Over-fishing has to be tackled whether it takes place in the Norwegian zone, the international zone or the Russian zone."

Despite differences over Svalbard, Pedersen said that overall she was satisfied with the recent fisheries talks with the EU and welcomed the Commission’s recent commitment to develop a more sustainable fisheries policy. "I regard the EU as fellow combatant in the battle against illegal fishing," she said. "We have a very constructive relationship with the EU and the idea that you will have a ‘certificate’ that follows the fish from the boat to the shop, is also in line with Norwegian thinking. But I also have great expectations for the follow-up on this - it is one thing to draft a proposal, it needs to be implemented, too."

Pedersen welcomed two aspects of the EU’s fisheries policy: an increase in quotas for cod and a change on discard policy.

"From a Norwegian point of view," said Pedersen, "fisheries relations with the EU have never been better than they are now. This is, for example, the first time we have increased the quota for North Sea cod, but what is also very important for us, is the part in the new agreement that the EU will reduce the amount of discards."

The 34-year-old minister said that while EU fishermen have been banned from landing their by-catches, Norwegian fishermen are banned from throwing their by-catches back into the sea. "Norway has a ban on discards, while the EU has a ban on not discarding fish - which has a big impact on stocks. We are very happy that the Commission now has put this issue on the agenda," she said.

Conservation groups have complained about the increase in North Sea cod quotas, but Pedersen said that the increase must be seen as part of a bigger picture. Quotas for most stocks, she said, had been cut and cod caught in the North Sea was first of all a by-product, as there was almost no direct Norwegian fishing of cod in the North Sea. "Because cod will always be a by-catch, we feel it is better to include it in the quota regulations…the part in the deal which stipulates a cut in discards of 10% is a very ambitious and important goal," said Pedersen.

"If the fishermen stick to their quotas, increasing the cod quota is justifiable and sustainable."

A spokesperson for the Commission said that there had been change in approach to the EU’s discard policy. The Union’s approach, she said, would be similar to the discard ban in Norway, but it would go much further, extending the policy to all finfish and crustaceans. She said that the Commission would make a proposal early in 2008.

Concerning the North Sea fisheries, the spokes-person said that although the measures to which the EU has committed itself for North Sea cod and whiting did not go as far as a ban, "they are a first, strong sign, of the EU’s determination to move decisively in this direction". "Discarding is undermining our attempts to establish sustainable fisheries", she added.

On the status of Svalbard and the fisheries protection zone around the archipelago, the spokeswoman said that since the EU was not a signatory to the Svalbard Treaty, the Commission could not impose an interpretation and that it had to deal with issues in a "pragmatic" way.

"We are committed to active collaboration with Norway so as to minimise the possibility of conflict or dispute. Our interests are basically the same - to see that fish stocks in the area are managed sustainably," said the spokeswoman. She added that as long as the rules applied by Norway were based on sound scientific advice and did not discriminate against non-Norwegian operators, then the Commission was committed to respecting them.

"The Commission does not support or defend any form of illegal fishing by anyone," said the spokeswoman, "by insisting that vessels caught fishing illegally should face legal proceedings in their flag state and not in Norway, the Commission is merely upholding the law of the sea, as it applied to international waters."

• On the long-running dispute between Norway and the EU over farmed salmon, which saw both sides claim victory after the World Trade Organization (WTO) published its opinion on the matter in November, Pedersen said: "We believe that the WTO panel agreed with Norway on the most important points. And the consequence of this should be that EU abandons its minimum price on imported salmon from Norway and that it doesn’t take similar action in the future. The panel was very clear on this."

She added: "The panel has agreed with us that the EU had no reason whatsoever to start its regime of minimum prices, but the panel did not say what the consequences on this should be. I didn’t expect the EU abandon the practice on the first day of the ruling, but the message from the panel is very clear." Pedersen said that Norway was well-prepared if the EU decided to appeal against the panel’s opinion.

The success of the deal reached by EU fisheries ministers on Wednesday (19 December) depends on co-operation with other countries. Jarle Hetland talks to Norway’s fisheries minister.