Mussel fishers resume work after minister orders rules review

Danish mussel fishers are preparing to resume fishing in the Limfjord after Environment Minister Maria Reumert Gjerding said the rules requiring them to sort their entire catch should be reviewed, DR reports.

The minister said she believed there had been a misunderstanding about how extensively the catch had to be sorted. She has asked the Danish Fisheries Agency to revisit the requirement and issue precise written guidance on what companies must and must not sort.

The dispute began several weeks ago when fisheries inspectors visited the mussel processing company Vilsund Blue in Nykøbing Mors. Employees were told to sort the entire catch, which can reach 500 tonnes a day, separating the different species and weighing them to within one gram.

Workers manually sorted mussels, shells and bycatch, including starfish, periwinkles, gobies, pipefish, shrimp, shore crabs and hermit crabs. Poul Kærgaard, a director at Vilsund Blue, described the task as impossible and stopped the mussel dredging operation.

“They simply told us to sort 100 per cent of the catch, sort it by species and weigh it to within one gram,” Kærgaard said.

Gjerding said the guidance had been given verbally and that she did not know exactly how any misunderstanding had arisen because she had not been present. She said the agency would therefore provide clearer written instructions.

The period in which the agency can help the industry comply with the rules will also be extended by three months.

Vilsund Blue welcomed the decision and is preparing to send its vessels back onto the fjord. The company will carry out opening tests on Monday and expects to resume fishing next Sunday, Kærgaard said.

He said a permanent solution was needed, allowing the industry to use samples instead of sorting the entire catch. Gjerding said she hoped a sampling system could be introduced, but stressed that it would require approval from the European Union.

Bycatch accounts for 40 per cent

Gjerding said the rules existed for a reason: authorities needed to know how much had been landed, the amount of bycatch of different species and the impact on the marine environment.

According to Vilsund Blue, 60 per cent of the fishers’ catch consists of mussels ready for sale, while 40 per cent is bycatch. Most of that is old mussel shells, but it also includes small fish, shrimp and starfish.

Mussels are mainly collected by dragging heavy equipment across the seabed. The method is considered one of the forms of fishing that puts the greatest pressure on the marine environment.

The Limfjord, like much of Denmark’s coastal waters, is affected by oxygen depletion, chemicals, shipping, climate change and fishing.

Gjerding and the Danish parliament recently decided to close mussel fishing in the Isefjord, the western Baltic Sea and the Great Belt no later than autumn 2034.

The minister said she was discussing the future of mussel dredging in the Limfjord with the industry. Fishers have requested, among other measures, a scrappage scheme, but such a system could be difficult to implement in Denmark because of European Union rules. Gjerding is discussing possible exemptions with the EU fisheries commissioner.

Danish mussel fishing is under financial pressure, while the average age of Danish fishers is above 60, according to figures from the Danish Fishermen’s Association.

Gjerding said the decision did not change her ambition to transition the fishing industry.