Agriculture Organization FAO

Norway has managed, in addition to Iceland as one of the few countries in Europe, to get to grips with the bycatch problem. With at least 1.4 million tons of on fish catches, which are again thrown back into the sea, the commercial fisheries in the EU is far from sustainable. With the inevitable result that around 88 per cent of the European fisheries areas are already hopelessly overfished. Some trawlers back jettisoning up to 80 percent of their prey. The overall rate of return throw within the EU is around 30 percent, is likely to be due to rampant illegal fishing in reality however much higher. Whether on board or not, the result remains the same: the fish are dead in any case! Also by the food and Agriculture Organization FAO, bycatch is considered one of the biggest problems of the commercial fisheries. Norway has managed, in addition to Iceland as one of the few countries in Europe, to get to grips with the problem.

Throwing overboard of by-catches will be banned and the fishermen must in regions where the by fan ridges is particularly high, no longer fishing. Accidentally caught fish are sold, to small specimens are processed into fish meal. A cutter without by-catch returns from a fishing trip, threatening fines and the boat will be fixed. Norwegian fisheries management is exemplary and not, as in the EU, influenced by politically and economically motivated Lobbyistentum, succeeds in with sad regularity, scientific advice on biological rest periods or lower fishing quotas to torpedo. Norway is working with a sophisticated and flexible system, where situational alternating periods in the different fishing zones be established and above all also monitors. The excessive catch of juveniles, which greatly affected the reproductive capacity of the species fished, are prevented by regulations to the mesh size of the nets and temporary fishing bans. Succeeded in precisely to reduce the whaling nation Norway by fan burrs to less than four percent. Unfortunately has the thing a hook: bilateral agreements allow, that the EU fleet in Norwegian waters fishing and vice versa. So the by-catch of British fishing vessels in Norwegian waters fished is swept away then then again in the EU zone. U. Karlowski