The two organisations representing the Danish fishing industry, the Danish Fishermen’s Association and the Danish Pelagic PO, have from the 1st of January this year established their own presence in Brussels.
The reasoning behind the move is to put the focus on Danish fisheries that are regulated under the Common Fisheries Policy.
‘Specifically, we are strengthening the position of the Danish fisheries sector by highlighting Danish fisheries in the EU and the Common Fisheries Policy,’ said Kenn Skau Fischer who took over as director of the Danish Fishermen’s Association recently when Niels Wichmann stepped down.
‘We want to establish rules and regulations for fisheries which take into account to a greater extent fisheries in northern waters such as the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the North Atlantic. We also want to increase co-operation with other players on the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy in Brussels. These are fisheries organisations and NGOs which are largely present in Brussels.’
He commented that the joint position by the two Danish organisations is a logical move in the light of their long background of close co-operation and their stepped-up efforts within the EU, not least as a result of Brexit.
‘The Danish Fishermen’s Association and the Danish Pelagic PO working together benefits Danish fishing as a whole,’ said DPPO director Esben Sverdrup Jensen.
‘We cannot sit back and be confident that the authorities will deliver all the messages that Danish fisheries have to the EU. We need to be actively present in Brussels and work for our own interests with the Commission and the European Parliament.’
