Norwegian industry body Fiskebåt has requested that the Ministry of Fisheries end the prohibition on vessels over 15 metres from fishing with purse seine gears on traditional fishing areas off the Finnmark coast.
This refers to the area within four nautical miles of the baselines, between Kinnarodden and Svartnes lighthouse, 1st from April to 15th June. Fiskebåt maintains that there is not sufficient scientific basis for such a general and time-limited ban, stating that the regulation should rather be based on the actual mix of fish below the minimum size, in line with the currently applicable permitted proportions, combined with strengthened control, monitoring and targeted sampling on the fishing grounds.
‘Such an approach would facilitate more predictable and knowledge-based regulations that take into account both consideration for sustainable stocks and the industry’s need for stable and efficient operations, and continued access to traditional fishing areas,’ Fiskebåt states in its letter to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
Fiskebåt hopes that the authorities will reconsider the current prohibition and establish a regulation that is more accurate, proportionate and in line with the principles of good resource management.
