Fisheries Group

North Sea Commission Fisheries Group Meeting - 24 October 2003 in Molde, Norway

Present:
Harry Jensen
Ann Bell
Karen Somerset
Eirin Roaldsen Nyhus
Kjersti Flatraker
Karsten Bækgaard
Svend Bråten
Frits van Zwijndregt
Åke Linden
Johnny Loen
Åsmund Bjordal
Dafydd Morris

1. Chairman Harry Jensen welcomed all the members including new member Kjersti Flatraker from Bergen. He thanked Eirin’s Region for hosting the meeting and for her organisation. Harry went to highlight the need for raising the work higher up the political agenda. He felt local politicians had an important role to play.  Co-operation thought the North Sea Region will be vital in months to come because as more accession countries join the EU North Sea States could become forgotten.

2. Apologies – Shetland, Orkney, Aberdeen City, Perth & Kinross, Borders.

3. Coastal Planning – Johnny Loen – More og Romsdal gave an interesting presentation on Coastal Planning in his County – (presentation)

• Not all Counties have planning rules for the sea, however his County is in the lead.
• Protected areas for lobster, clam and urchin growing is in the early stages, but prove interesting
• Before farming licences are approved the farmer has to be able to prove that he is competent to operate a fish farm
• Licences are not time bound
• Local Council’s decide on the applications

4. Dafydd Morris – presented  “Interaction between fisheries and aquaculture” in the Highland Region of Scotland.  (Presentation)

• The Council presently has no power in approving applications for fish farms. They have to be consulted, but even if they do not agree, the Crown Estates (who have the legal powers) can still approve against the advice of the Council.  It is hoped that next year Councils will have the powers not the Crown Estates.
• In Highland Region there are local management forums for inshore fisheries, which include all the relevant stakeholders. Daffyd provided a very comprehensive insight into Inshore Fisheries in Highland Region. It was agreed that at the next meeting of the NSCFG we should discuss and try create a NS Inshore Fisheries Management Network /Partnership.

5. Åsmund Bjordal, Research Director, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen gave a most interesting presentation on the work of Nordic Council of Ministers, Working Group on Fisheries of which he is Chairman.   Most of the NSCFG members were very surprised at the extent of the work of the Nordic Council. They are working on some very ambitious projects. One of the main messages coming from Mr. Bjordal was importance of working in Partnership, as we do through the NSCFG and NSCFP.   After the presentation Mr.Bjordal agreed to give a similar presentation to the NSCFP at it’s next meeting, as it was thought there might  be   opportunities for co-operation.  (Presentation). More information about the very interesting work of the Nordic Council can be found on www.norden.org/fisk.

6. Mapping of inshore areas – important areas for fisheries – was discussed briefly, however it was agreed that this important topic would be on the agenda for the second meeting of 2004 after a research project in Denmark was completed.

7. “Development and re organisation/reconverting of fishery dependent areas” is a Danish Government initiative, which will cover ten peripheral regions and four fishing harbours in Denmark. Ringkobjing County is during the debate that followed it was agreed that members would send information from their regions to Karen Somerset to put on the Fisheries Group web site. However it was thought that this information would be of interest to all the groups as it involved, Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, Transport, Environment and Education. A particular page on the Regeneration of Fishing Dependent/Rural Areas could also be used for collecting experiences to be used in other regions facing similar problems.

8. Frits van Zwijnndregt spoke about Attitudes to Quality (or lack of) and of a specific quality initiative in the Netherlands and Belgium. Quality Index Method (QIM).  Full information on this initiative is available on www.qim-eurofish.com/qimchain/bottom.htm He also spoke about the

Silver Seal Quality Award.  Members agreed that quality of fish was important as quantity in the North Sea was getting less.  It is important that the tracability of the fish from source to consumer should be encouraged.   Tracability is already happening in some countries. Svend Bråten suggested that it would be good to highlight fish from inshore fisheries, as they could be caught and landed the same day, thereby increasing the chances of quality.

9. An update on the work of the North Sea Fisheries Partnership (NSCFP) was given, the report of the Consultation Meeting with ICES and the Partnership is available of the web page. The NSCFP/ICES consultation meeting was extremely productive in further developing co-operation with ICES and highlighting the value of having consultation with Fishers. The Partnership has been offered the possibility of having representation on four of the ICES working groups.  This is a very important step forward and the Partnership will be involved in providing advice/consultation at an early stage in the Fish Stock Assessment process.

10. The North Sea Regional Advisory Council proposal is well underway, with an Interreg application being prepared for February.  Consultation has taken place with all the North Sea Member State Fisheries Administrators and the EU Commission.   An NSCFP RAC Working Group meeting is to take place in Brussels in November to have a Trail RAC meeting, the topic of which will be “Linkage” the de coupling of Cod from other species.

11. The “Women Working in Partnership in Europe” application for funding bid is presently with the EU Commission for Fisheries, we should know next week if it has been successful. If it is, the conference on “The Changing Role of Women in Rural Communities” will take place early 2004.

12. “Fishing for Facts” a paper was given to Group regarding a proposed conference to be held in Aberdeen in February 2004. The topic will be “Fishing for Facts” What is happening in the sea.  The conference will discuss four topics:

• Climate Change
• Food chain
• Fishing
• Predation

As these are all issues, which have been discussed within the NSC Fisheries Group, it was thought that the NSCFG might wish to support the conference, which is being promoted by the Scottish White Fish Producers Association and Aberdeenshire Council. The NSCFG unanimously agreed that we should support this conference. A paper is to be presented to the NSC Executive meeting in Bergen on 27 October 2003 to seek funding support..

13. The Province of Noord Holland will host the Joint meeting of NSCFG/NSCEG which is planned to take place on 22 January 2004 in Harlem, Netherlands. “Marine Protected Areas will be the main topic for this meeting. This was agreed at the last joint NSCFG/NSCEG meeting, which took place in Esbjerg in April 2003.  Further information on the agenda, programme, speakers etc. will be available on the web.

14. The next meeting of the NSCFG will be on 23 January in Harlem following the joint NSCFG/NSCEG meeting. Prior to this meeting members will provided with the report of the Tarjno conference “Who Owns the Sea”. The conclusions of this report will form the main points of the agenda for the meeting. It was thought important to try and form a network/partnership of Inshore Fisheries Management Areas using the model of the NSCFP. It was also agreed to look at having a meeting of the NSCFG prior to the NSC General Assembly in 2004. This would enable members to participate in the General Assembly and the Fisheries Study Tour.  Information regarding the General Assembly and the Fisheries Study Tour will be made available to NSCFG members as soon as possible, to enable us to decide whether to proceed with the meeting.

AOCB As there were no other matters to discuss the Chairman closed the meeting. He thanked the Eirin for all her help in the organisation of the meeting and the speakers for their presentations.