Breakdown in fisheries negotiations
Despite several rounds of negotiations, Norway and the EU have not been able to conclude a bilateral fisheries agreement for 2010.
The exchange of fishing quotas between Norway and the EU is difficult because the EU has problems in paying for Barents Sea cod with fish from EU the waters of interest to Norway, claims the Norwegian Ministry of Fishery and Coastal Affairs.
- I am very disappointed about the EU’s lack of willingness and determination to arrive at a mutually satisfactory agreement for 2010”, says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, Lisbeth Berg-Hansen, in a press release posted on the ministry’s website.
There are also other important issues that Norway and the EU have not agreed upon. - I would in particular emphasize the need for new technical measures to reduce discards of fish. In fact discards constitute a waste of valuable resources. It is therefore disappointing that the EU has not managed to introduce the necessary measures to improve the exploitation pattern in the North Sea and Skagerrak, says Lisbeth Berg-Hansen.
