politics
The Norwegian Government Agrees With Opposing Parties On New Fisheries Policy
The Norwegian government parties have agreed with the opposing parties on the quota white paper. "The Labor and Center Party are throwing away a historic opportunity to bring the fish back to the people and create workplaces in coastal fisheries and fish processing in the land industry," says Red Party fishery policy spokesperson Geir Jørgensen.
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Last week, the government parties in Norway agreed with the Conservative, Progress, Liberal, and Christian Democrat Party on the whitepaper about the fisheries’ quota system.
The Minister of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries, Cecilie Myrseth (Labor), presented the quota whitepaper in January, titled "People, fish, and community—a quota whitepaper for predictability and fair distribution." The whitepaper sets the premises for how fisheries will be conducted in the years to come.
At the presentation, Myrseth announced that the whitepaper contained several changes but that it would not be a revolution – and emphasized the importance of broad agreement on the fisheries industry's main pillars.
"The government's objective for the fisheries industry is clear: We wish to ensure a fairer distribution, to ensure activity and settlement in local communities along the entire coast," said Myrseth.
Red and Socialist Left reacts
"The government is letting the coast down, and the Labor and Center Party are wasting a historic opportunity to bring the fish back to the people and create workplaces in coastal fisheries and fish processing in the industry on land," said the Red Party's fishery policy spokesperson, Geir Jørgensen, to High North News about the agreement.
Jørgensen believes the agreement does not address the Office of the Auditor General of Norway (OAG)'s criticism of the fisheries policy, nor does it create more activity on fish plants or at sea in the Northern Norwegian fishing villages.
At the cost of coastal communities
"Today, the richest shipowners and largest quota barons can be pleased with an almost full breakthrough in protecting their incomes at the cost of the coastal communities. It should be difficult for a new fisheries minister from Northern Norway to administrate the right's fisheries policy in the coming years," says Jørgensen
"The Red Party has been constructive in the negotiations, and the government had all opportunities to receive good help to fulfill their promises of re-distribution and ensure settlement, employment, and value creation along the coast. It is incredibly disappointing that the government has shut the door on us and is actively seeking a majority with the right rather than following up the signals from their own voters in the parliament election," he emphasizes.
The Socialist Left Deputy Parliamentary Leader, Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes, also reacted to the agreement with the conservative parties. The Socialist Left was part of the negotiations until Thursday, wrote Fiskeribladet. Fylkesnes told the newspaper that the distance was enormous.
Different concerns and predictability
"I am pleased we have reached a broad consensus regarding fish distribution. For the Centre Party, it means that we are securing a viable coast with opportunities, but we have also had to prioritize between various concerns. We have clarified necessary matters that have plagued the fisheries industry. I want to praise the parties for the will to land an agreement in this matter," says rapporteur Willfred Nordlund of the Centre Party in a press release.
The parties that agreed on the quota white paper considered a broad political foundation important during the parliament's processing to create predictability for one of the country's most important industries.
"The Conservative Party is pleased with a broad majority for the quota white paper while also getting approval for matters important to us. When it comes to changing the quota distribution, we have arrived at a scheme that acceptably compensates for this. The quota white paper will contribute to the long lines and stability for the fisheries policy," the Conservative Party's Olve Grotle adds.
Major debate around new distribution of cod
As High North News has previously reported, the government clarified four central aspects at the presentation of the quota whitepaper. These included the issue of redistribution of structural quotas and how this will occur in the industry.
Another important aspect was the distribution of cod quotas. The quota white paper reveals that the government wants to reintroduce the "trawl ladder", which the Solberg cabinet replaced in the previous quota white paper in 2020.
The trawl ladder entails a dynamic quota distribution. In other words, a larger share of the quotas will be allocated to the coastal fleet when the total quota is low and a larger share to the ocean fleet when the total quota is high.
The quota distribution of cod to the open group has also been hotly debated.
The Labor and Centre Party proposed that the open group's (no need for concession to participate in the fisheries) quota for cod north of 62 degrees north should be a 6,12 percent allocation from "the top," i.e., the total Norwegian cod quota.
Previously, this quota has been taken from the quota distributed to the vessel groups with conventional tools. That the open group's quota is taken from the top involves a new distribution in which the trawl fleet will have to give up cod to the open group.
The matter will be processed in parliament on April 29th.
