“I firmly believe that this agreement will result in an improved exploitation pattern in the North Sea fisheries. I am very content that the EU has cooperated positively to find solutions on complex problems,” Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen said.
“I am also pleased that we have agreed to an exchange of fishing possibilities that will benefit the industry both in EU and Norway,” Minister Pedersen added. According to news organisation Balita, Minister Pedersen said the objective of the agreement is to minimize, through effective regulation, eradicate discards, including the consideration of a discard ban before 2012 as an element of the revision of the EU Common Fishery Policy.
“The Community agreed to introduce a ban on high grading from 2009. This is an important step on the way towards a discard ban,” Minister Pedersen explained.
The Parties agreed to develop a joint arrangement for real time closures (RTC) of fishing grounds, and have established a Working Group which will develop and implement a RTC system and a system for seasonal area closures in the North Sea and Skagerrak, reports Balita.
Norway and EU Resolve the Issue of Fish Discards
NORWAY - Norway and the European Union (EU) forged a bilateral fisheries agreement for 2009 to resolve issue on fish discard, the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs said in press statement released during the weekend.
