Denmark’s Pelagic PO has welcomed the announcement at the weekend of the members of the independent Fisheries Commission, which were agreed in December 2021 by a broad consensus of the parties in Parliament.
‘This is really good news for Danish fishing, because after Brexit there is a need for both re-thinking and innovation in Danish fishing policy,’ said DPPO director Esben Sverdrup-Jensen.
‘This was exactly what we were looking for when we first presented the desire for a politically independent expert commission in August 2021 to develop recommendations for the framework conditions for the future of fishing and to help us respond to some of the central issues the sector faces.’
These include the challenges to the green transition, ensuring development, profitability and growth, and examining how to respond to consumer demands in ten, twenty and thirty years.
According to DPPO, there are questions relating to how different fisheries can develop, and how to balance competitiveness, climate consideration and diversity. In addition there are questions of how restore trust between authorities and fishermen, and how to create a fishing sector that is relevant and attractive to the next generation.
‘It may look a little strange that there are no fishermen or green NGOs in the Commission, but it is our recommendation that the Fisheries Commission is made up of a broad group of experts in each of their fields, economy, climate, biology, and others, and that the commission has to work independently of politics – which applies to both party and organisational politics,’ Esben Sverdrup-Jensen said.
‘Hopefully this will generate peace, and give us space for the development of ambitious recommendations and creative ideas. At DPPO we don’t have all the answers. But we have the will to address the necessary discussion about the future of fisheries policy.’
The Fisheries Commission is expected to make the first recommendations by the end of 2022 and complete its work in 2023.
‘We are looking forward to a close cooperation with the Fisheries Commission, as part of the subsidiary group. The commission’s work and task are not clearly defined, so this must be developed in dialogue with us in the industry and other stakeholders. We have high expectations for this process and expect to be deeply involved in it,’ he said.
