Norwegian vessel operators’ federation Fiskebåt has criticised government plans to apply tax measures more vigorously to the fishing fleet – at a time when there are no real fuel alternatives available.
‘We already pay higher taxes than our competitors,’ said Fiskebåt director Audun Maråk.
‘Ratcheting up the CO2 tax, the fact that the tax burden is to be extended to include fishing in distant waters, and increased blending requirements for biofuel without cost recovery will lead to downsizing in the Norwegian fishing industry and negative consequences for Norwegian value creation and activity.’
He commented that climate policy reflects a clear differential treatment between sectors that are included in the quota-obliged sector and sectors that end up in the non-quota-obligated sector.
‘While sectors that are part of the quota-obliged sector receive the same CO2 pricing as their main competitors in the EEA area, it is assumed that industries exposed to competition in the non-quota-obligated sector in Norway, such as the fishing fleet, will face a much higher CO2 pricing than their foreign competitors,’ he said.
‘This will not result in a green restructuring of the fishing fleet, but is a recipe for a gradual downsizing of the fishing industry in Norway, and will lead to an errratic operation pattern and increased landings abroad to avoid Norwegian special taxes.’
According to Audun Maråk, this would be unfortunate in relation to the policy objectives of increased value creation, activity and employment in coastal Norway, and it would break with the objective of harvesting sustainable stocks.
‘In a situation with increasing demand for food in the world, it will be negative if climate-friendly protein from the sea has to be replaced by other animal protein sources that produce greater greenhouse gas emissions.’
He stated that the Norwegian fishing fleet and the fishing industry operate in an international market and must receive the same CO2 pricing as competitors in other countries.
‘International cooperation on the climate strategy for the fishing fleet in the EEA area and where the industry operates under the same competitive conditions must therefore be put in place as soon as possible,’ Audun Maråk said.
‘In order to avoid an unacceptable competitive situation for the Norwegian fishing industry in the short term, the compensation scheme for the fishing fleet must be significantly strengthened to compensate for increased CO2 taxes and the blending requirement for biofuel.’
