The matter in summary: An opinion poll carried out by NORSTAT for news shows that a majority of Norwegians want to reduce or remove the quota of 18 kilos of fish fillet that tourists can take out of the country. The customs agency has warned of an increase in illegal smuggling by fishing tourists in the past year. A large proportion of the catches come from registered tourist fishing camps in northern Norway. The State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries believes that better control over the taking of fish from the fjords in Norway is necessary, but a total ban on the export of fish for tourists is not relevant. Eivind Johnny Pettersen, general manager of Maribell sjøbuer, believes that a reduction in export quotas for tourists may be the way to go, but a total ban will probably mean the end of his business. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – The fishermen got a 20 per cent reduction in their fishing quotas this year, so it is only right that the tourists also get a reduction in what they can take home, says general manager of Maribell sjøbuer, Eivind Johnny Pettersen. news has visited the tourist fishing facility he runs, which is located in the village of Kvaløyvågen on Kvaløya outside Tromsø. Over the past six months, the number of seizures of fish caught by tourists has increased at Norwegian airports and at border crossings. news has asked people what they think about how much fish tourists should be allowed to take home. In the survey, carried out by Norstat, a majority say that they want to reduce, or remove, the export quota of 18 kilos of fish fillet that tourists can take out of the country. Smugglers from tourist fishing camps Figures from the Norwegian Customs Service, which news has obtained access to, show that so far this summer 7.6 tonnes of fish fillets have been seized at Norwegian border crossings and airports. This corresponds to over 25 tonnes of fish converted to whole fish. Investigations carried out by the newspaper iTromsø, based on statistics from the Customs Agency, show that six out of seven, of seizures over 250 kilos, come from registered tourist fishing camps in Norway. In total, half of all seizures made by the Norwegian Customs Authority in recent years are from legally registered facilities. At these border crossings, most people are caught smuggling fish: At the Bjørnefjell border crossing, over one tonne of fish fillets have been seized since 2022. Further south in Nordland, at the Junkerdalen toll station, 2.9 tonnes of fish fillets have been seized in recent years. Well Helligskogen toll station, on the border between Troms and Finland, the customs officers have taken over three tonnes of fish fillet since 2022. Kivilimo toll station, south of Kautokeino, connected Western Finnmark to Finland. Here, over 4.6 tonnes of fish fillets have been seized since 2022. At Karigasniemi customs station, east of Karasjok, over 4.8 tonnes of fish fillets have been seized since 2022. news has obtained an overview of how much fish is seized at Norwegian border stations. There are border crossings at Karasjok and Kautokeino, towards Finland, where most smuggled fish have been seized in the last three years, according to a review carried out by news. The largest share of fish taken at the border, from tourist fishing, comes from the fjords in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. State Secretary for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Kristina Sigurdsdottir Hansen (Ap), tells news that she is surprised that so many tourists from registered fishing camps have been caught smuggling recently. – We assume that registered tourist fishing companies comply with the regulations, she says. At two border crossings from Finnmark into Finland, the most fish have been taken of all border stations since 2022. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Ap), and her state secretary, Kristina Sigurdsdottir Hansen (Ap), both come from Western Finnmark . Does not support a total ban The increase in seizures of smuggled fish prompted SV’s deputy leader, Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes, to demand a ban on all exports of fish caught by tourists from Norway. news’s survey shows that there is far from a majority of the population in favor of such a proposal. Only 17 percent of those who responded to news’s survey support the proposal. In Northern Norway, only 15 percent support a total ban. Eivind Johnny Pettersen is general manager at Maribell sjøbuer outside Tromsø. August Hansen/news Maribell sjøbuer costs NOK 18,000 for a week’s stay for a tourist. On average, each tourist stays at the facility for seven days. A fishing tourist can take a maximum of 18 kilos of fish fillets with him from the country. If this is converted to whole fish, this will correspond to approximately 60 kilos of fish for each tourist. Thus, each kilogram of fish that a fisherman can take home legally costs at least NOK 300 per kilogram. This is several times more than what the fish costs at home in the fish counter in Germany. Pettersen believes that a ban on the export of this fish, for tourist fishermen, will probably mean the hook on the door for his company. – If there is a ban on the export of fish for tourists, I will probably have to find something else to do. If there was a reduction to 15 kilos, we can live with that, says Pettersen. – It has been going on for far too long. If it continues like this, we don’t know where it will end. The Minister of Fisheries must have a plan to solve this, that is her job.Anne Marie Nordaas Will hold the camps accountable news has spoken to several people on the streets of Tromsø about how they see the problem of smuggling fish from the fishing camps. Anne Marie Nordaas is among those who believe that strong action is needed to stop smuggling, and she holds the government responsible for finding solutions. – The Minister of Fisheries must have a plan for this, that is her job. It has gone on for far too long. She is the one who has the authority to do something. This has been going on for far too long, she says to news. Martin Ryssdal does not think it is good that there seems to be a lack of control over the extraction in the fjords. He believes increased control at the fishing tourist facilities is the way to go. – I think it is going too far to refuse all tourists to take fish out of the country. Ulla-Britt Husby has nothing against tourists coming to the country to fish. – I think it is nice that they want to come to Norway to fish, but perhaps the control system should follow up better on the tourist facilities in the border control. Anne Marie Nordaas believes that the large increase in the number of seizures recently is a danger signal that the authorities must take seriously. – The Minister of Fisheries must have a plan for this, that is her job. She is the one who has the authority to do something. This has been going on for far too long. Mari Kristel Gederaas believes that there should be better control of fishing tourism along the coast. – Perhaps those who run fishing camps should also take greater responsibility, she says. Egil Fossbakk believes that it is good for the coast and jobs that tourists come to Norway to fish. He does not have strong opinions that there is an increase in the number of tourists who are caught bringing too much fish at the border. – I have no strong opinions about that. Martin Ryssdal does not think it is good that there seems to be a lack of control over the extraction in the fjords. He believes increased control at the fishing tourist facilities is the way to go. – I think it is going too far to refuse all tourists to take fish out of the country. August Hansen – We do not have good enough control over the take. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is on holiday at home in Hammerfest. State Secretary for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Kristina Sigurdsdottir Hansen (Ap), believes that efforts must be made to control how much fish is taken from the fjords in Norway. – We do not have good enough control over the size of the take from fishing tourists in Norway. This is the problem. – There is a quota set for tourist fishing, and we have to stay within it. Kristina Hansen says it is not appropriate to introduce a total ban on the export of fish for tourists coming to Norway. – We have set up a working group which we hope will come up with several good proposals to stop smuggling, she says. The State Secretary believes that the individual tourist fishing camps have their own responsibility to stop their tourists from taking too much fish out of the country. – The companies are responsible for informing tourists about the regulations, and they are responsible for reporting their catches. Nor is it the case that the companies are irresponsible if their tourists smuggle fish across the border, she points out. – As far as I know, none of our tourists have taken too much fish at the border. And if they are caught, they are not welcome here anymore, says Eivind Johnny Pettersen. Will increase the fines for crumbing Eivind Johnny Pettersen says the facility is clear to its tourists about how much fish is allowed to be taken out of the country. – It is stated in the contract they sign when they arrive. It states the minimum size of fish, and that they are not allowed to take more than 18 kilograms of fish out of the country. He believes that one measure could be to increase the fines for those tourists who are caught: – We must make it so strict that no one thinks about smuggling fish, says Pettersen. He himself, together with the other owners, is considering banning tourists from returning to Maribell sea bows, if they discover that some of them are caught smuggling across the border. – So far, none of my tourists have been caught for smuggling. We will consider banning them from coming back here if that happens, he says. Published 22.07.2024, at 05.05
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Majority wants to cut the amount of fish foreigners can take home – news Troms and Finnmark
