Most fishing groups reject proposal for 750 extra days

Most organisations that submitted responses oppose a proposal to give boats in group 5B an additional 750 fishing days this year, Kringvarp Føroya reported. The proposal was made by Fisheries Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen.

The South Streymoy Small Boat Fishing Association supports the proposal. The fisheries administration Vørn had no comment, while the representative of workers’ organisations in the Fisheries Council did not respond.

The Trawlers Association said that although the proposal would not benefit group 4T, it was positive that the minister wanted to change the fishing day system.

However, the association also said that the management plan from 2019 was no longer being followed. It called for the entire fishing day system to be reviewed, rather than only the rules for group 5B.

The Trawlers Association recommended that Parliament reconsider all vessel groups. It also said the Ministry of Fisheries should follow the 2019 agreement so that the management plan could become a more firmly established basis for the fishing day system.

The other organisations that submitted consultation responses were the Shipowners’ Association, the Officers’ and Navigators’ Association, the Federation of Small Boat Fishermen, the Marine Research Institute, the Faroese Fishermen’s Association, the Raw Fish Buyers’ Association and the Raw Fish Sellers’ Association. None supported the proposal.