The Norwegian government is clearing the way for dispensations for fishroom capacity restrictions for shrimpers.
According to a statement by Minister of Fisheries Per Sandberg, the Norwegian government has decided to allow pelagic vessels a dispensation from the 2500 cubic metre fishroom capacity for shrimp fishing. The move is designed to allow crossover between sectors which would give pelagic vessels that have limited opportunities to operate throughout the year to switch to shrimp.
‘I want to make possible more shrimp fishing in the Barents Sea, which would lead to larger landings. The problems facing the shrimp sector in the northern region are a shortfall in profitability, which means that fishing for shrimps is below what the stock is believed to be able to support,’ Per Sandberg said.
‘By facilitating new models of combined operation and more flexibility, we feel that there is a chance that more industry players will see opportunities to fish for shrimps. It is difficult to see any reason why purse seiners and pelagic trawlers should not be able to combine their activities with shrimping when this option is open to other vessels,’ Per Sandberg said.
