Robert Brun spends many of this year’s days out on the blue waves. The fisherman from Stø in Vesterålen is mainly looking for cod, but he can inform that they constantly get fish in the net that they do not need. Robert thinks it’s a shame that good fish are thrown away. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news Skate, black hawk, sea mouse and ice boar are just some of the species he highlights. – We do not prioritize this fish, we throw it straight into the container. It is not used and we get zero kroner for it, the fisherman says. What is bycatch? By-catch is a catch that one is not basically looking for, everything except the target species. If you are looking for fools, but get other species, it will be a by-catch. In Norway, we have a draft ban. This means that all by-catch must be transported to a fishery reception and registered. Studies show that fish that are thrown into the sea only exceptionally survive and discards of fish are therefore a waste of resources. Unreported by-catch is what is not transported back ashore. It’s a shame, he thinks, because several of these fish are good fish. – Isgalt is, for example, a fish of high quality. – If someone had been given the choice between an ice boar fillet and a haddock fillet, I think many would have chosen the ice boar. Brun says that haddock has gained a name among the people, and is thus perceived as a far more sought-after fish. Large dark numbers – I would estimate that there are approximately 5,000 tonnes of unreported by-catch each year. Of these, we could probably have used 3,000 tonnes as food fish, says Kjell Nedreaas. He is a researcher at the Institute of Marine Research and recently wrote a column on how unreported by-catch from coastal fishing can help increase Norway’s food security. Researcher Kjell Nedreaas believes that better utilization of the by-catch could lead to increased food safety. Photo: THE SEA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Nedreaas believes that both the market and the challenges of accepting and reselling the catch are the reason why some fish receptions do not accept all fish. Although it could have been used as a food fish. – I think it is too easy for a fish reception to have such a limited opportunity to accept what the fisherman offers, that the fisherman finds himself forced to throw it away, he says. – The fisherman can take it to the quay, but is it better that it is thrown at the quay than where it was taken up ?, the researcher asks himself. Shall take their share of responsibility – It is very unfortunate that we see that it is still the case that good food resources do not find their way to the consumer in a world where people still have too little food. This is what Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs Bjørnar Skjæran (Labor Party) says to news. He believes there is a need to raise awareness around this very issue. – We will develop policies that hit. But it is obvious that everyone has a common responsibility, he says. The Minister of Fisheries points to the authorities, the industry, the grocery chains and not least the consumer. Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Bjørnar Skjæran believes that everyone must take their share of responsibility. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen – I will do everything I can to take my share of responsibility, but it is important that more people also know about this. If we are to put an end to this with food waste, everyone must take responsibility. – What can you do politically? – We are now working on a new quota report. In March, we also received the report from the processing committee. It has now been consulted. We are in the process of reviewing the proposals and input we have received. It is a goal for the government to make better use of resources and increase the processing of seafood here at home, he says and adds: We have received many good suggestions, and we will spend the summer looking more closely at this. At the same time, Skjæran is ready for one thing. – Individual measures alone will not benefit. Together, we must look at holistic solutions that increase value creation throughout the seafood value chain. Increased food security – Better utilization of all sustainable catches will lead to increased food security, says Kjell Nedreaas. The researcher recalls the beginning of the corona pandemic and how food was torn from store shelves. – In times of crisis, we become anxious and insecure. Then it is clear that the shorter the food safety, the safer you become, he explains. With that, Nedreaas argues for the importance of smaller local small-scale fish reception. – The fact that we have the defined coastal fleet and the short-haul food, it is important for our own food security. In Norway, we have a draft ban which means that commercial fishermen are required by law to submit all by-catch. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Has taken action news has previously written about Ole Olsen. He is the general manager of the fish reception Sufi AS on Sund in Lofoten. Here they have seen large quantities of just Isgalt as by-catch. According to Olsen, they have previously only paid a few ears for the kilo since the deep-water fish has not had value, but rather been a problem. Icefish (fish) Photo: Erik Jenssen / Kyst og Fjord Icefish is a fish species in the schooling family, which in turn is a cod fish. The species has an Arctic distribution on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It is usually found in deep and cold water, from 100 to 1000 meters deep. In Norway, it is found from Svalbard and the Barents Sea in the north and south along the continental slope to Bergen. The iceberg almost only eats shrimp. Iceberg is an excellent food fish and tastes like lobster. There is no directed fishing for icefish in Norway today, but some is fished as a by-catch in other fisheries. Source: SNL But now that’s about to change. – Now we pay for quality. Now we are around 4-5 kroner per kilo for round weight. – I think it has a huge potential, he says to news. The initiative is well received by the Minister of Fisheries. – It is an initiative I want to praise them for. The fact that someone is leading the way is good, and I hope that this helps to show the way for more people. If everyone takes responsibility, it is obvious that one can also find a market for the fish that is sold to a small extent today. Big dark numbers Per-Erik Schultze is a marine biologist and works in the Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation. He believes that the large chains provide guidance for what is prioritized by the fish receptions. Per-Erik Schultze looks to Sweden for inspiration for smaller and local fish receptions. Photo: Jo Straube – It is a challenge to utilize the by-catch in the large systems, he explains. – The big players are probably trying to get what they are looking for. Specific species of a certain size that go straight into filleting machines. If they get something else, it will partly be a problem. Schultze believes the best are small local fish receptions with a sale where they are. Then they always have the opportunity to offer the fish that the big chains do not offer. There are less opportunities to utilize smaller quantities of fish, especially in larger receptions. This is because they are transported into large companies and straight into the grocery chains. Deviations from the norm can thus be more difficult to handle, the marine biologist believes. – In several Swedish coastal municipalities, there has been very conscious work on exploiting species that are not necessarily so popular.
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Believes bycatch can increase Norway’s food security – news Nordland
