– Among other things, we seized a collection stone with ten lobsters in it, and in addition a collection stone with a lobster in it where the owner is known, says senior inspector in the Directorate of Fisheries, region South, Nils Johan Stonghagen. The week before the lobster fishery opened on 1 October at 8am, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries in collaboration with the Norwegian Police, the Coast Guard (KV) and the State Nature Inspectorate (SNO) carried out several checks along the coast. From Egersund in the south to Florø in the north, and also in the Oslofjord. The campaign before fishing opened revealed a great many offences. A total of 196 implements were seized, most of them lobster stones. Found teine before 08 Saturday 75 of them were in Rogaland. In addition to confiscating illegal equipment, 53 warnings were given for less serious breaches of the rules. – Most of the fittings concern the wrong escape opening, poor or no marking and in some cases a lack of installed rotting wire, says Stonghagen. They were also out on 1 October before 08.00 and found a child who was seized. – It was set before the legal catch time, says Stonghagen. The results from the control in the Oslofjord are not yet clear. Can receive relatively large fines Action was also carried out further north on the Vestland coast. This covered an area from the very south of Vestland county to the area south of Bergen. Here, 121 implements were seized, mostly bricks, a few ruses and four collection bricks. A total of 54 reviews were submitted with both known and unknown owners. In cases where the owner is known, there could be relatively large fines. A total of 196 illegal tools were seized in the days before lobster fishing opened. Senior inspector Rudi Iden seizes the control system. Photo: The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries – Most of the seizures concern the wrong escape opening, poor or no marking and in some cases a lack of installed rotting wire, says Stonghagen. The directorate believes that people are generally good at marking their tools, but sees violations of the rules for small escape openings. When lobster fishing is allowed, you can have a 60 millimeter opening. Many people make smaller openings in their fishing nets before the fishing officially starts. Control in protected areas After lobster fishing opened on 1 October, the Directorate of Fisheries carried out controls in several protected areas for lobster in the Sognefjord. No seizures had been made in any of the conservation areas. No sea urchins were found within the conservation areas for lobsters in the Sognefjord. Photo: Fredrik Myhre / WWF World Wide Fund for Nature – It seems that people have good control over the regulations. We found some tein right on the border of the protected areas, but none inside. In general, people are good at following the regulations, especially after the fishery has been opened. But there is always someone who consciously or unconsciously does not have either equipment or regulations in order, says Rudi Iden, senior inspector in the Directorate of Fisheries, Region West.
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196 seizures in a major operation against illegal lobster fishing in several places in the country – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
