Bø municipality has been in the spotlight before. In the past, they have had resilient tax cuts that made them known under the name “Norway’s Monaco”. This meant that the municipality attracted rich people such as Bjørn Dæhlie among others. Now the municipality has new plans. They are building Norway’s largest cod slaughterhouse. But they have a problem. The state administrator will find out what environmental consequences there are when cod is kept in cages before it is slaughtered. The Nordlands municipality does not have time for that. The local politicians from Bø believe that the State Administrator overlooks the most important thing: the social aspects of the slaughterhouse. Cod already on the way – I think too little has been discussed about the significance this will have for Bø in terms of jobs. That’s according to the mayor of Bø, Sture Pedersen. The mayor of Bø in Vesterålen, Sture Pedersen, believes that jobs are more important than the dangers the State Administrator points to with pollution. Photo: Øystein Nygård / news – We are planning for Norway’s largest cod slaughterhouse. We cannot sit and watch as we lose those jobs in our municipality. In addition, the politicians in Bø are in a hurry. Because the slaughterhouse is already almost finished. And the cod to be slaughtered is on its way from Helgeland. – Isn’t it enough to delay building the slaughterhouse before they have received the green light from the State Administrator? – We have gambled that this will go well. Machines and everything is in place. We have been positive all along and have given the companies permission. And the slaughterhouse itself is not a problem for the State Administrator. It is the place where the cod must be before it is slaughtered that is the problem: Slaktemerdane. The state administrator fears pollution Now Bø municipality has granted a temporary dispensation to Vesterålen Havbruk so that they can accept the cod and keep them in slaughter cages, also called waiting cages. It does not seem that the State Administrator is particularly wise. They believe that the decision is hasty, and that one should have looked more closely at how much such a plant will pollute the sea before filling the cages with cod. In the consultation report the State Administrator has written, they advise the municipality not to grant a dispensation for waiting cages for farmed cod. According to the plans, the cod slaughterhouse will become a workplace for 25–30 workers. The facility in Vesterålen Havbruk is already ready. Photo: Vesterålen Havbruk Although the discharge from the waiting cages can be significantly less than from food fish farms, there is also pollution from slaughtering sites and waiting cages. – The situation will not be improved by the fact that the slaughter sites are located in more sheltered places in the water, writes the State Administrator. The state administrator therefore believes that the establishment of waiting cages requires the preparation of the zoning plan for the area. – Only through a zoning plan can participation be ensured from everyone with interests in the area, says the consultation report. Bø in Vesterålen is a scenic area. The state administrator has also pointed out that it should have worked out better if the transport would affect the open air area around the slaughterhouse. Photo: Børre Magne Albrigtsen/private – Why haven’t they taken more into account what the cod slaughterhouse has to say for the local community? – When we have a disposal case, we give little weight to the societal aspect. We are looking at the professional interest we are to look after, says Hanne Hanssen, senior adviser at the State Trustee. In this case, the State Administrator has looked at land share, zoning plan, pollution, outdoor activities and participation. Vesterålen Havbruk: – Important for the company and local community The cod slaughterhouse Vesterålen Havbruk, for its part, says they are completely dependent on obtaining the necessary permission to establish a slaughterhouse and slaughterhouse in Straumfjord. – Until the next fishing season, there is delivery of farmed cod which will now be slaughtered and provide the basis for the year-round industrial production, writes the daily manager of Vesterålen Havbruk, Brynja Kværnstuen, in an e-mail to news. – It is very important both for the company and the local communities in Bø and Myre that we get a quick clarification. It is the farming company Norcod that will deliver farmed cod to the slaughterhouse in Bø. Hilde Rutledal Storhaug, sustainability director at Norcod, says they are also happy that the municipality is now granting a dispensation so that they can deliver the cod in cages. – It gives more flexibility. It is a long transport distance from the facility at sea. With waiting staff, we do not tie up capacity at the slaughterhouse. She adds that it is also best for the cod to be in a waiting cage before they are slaughtered. Considering sending a letter to the King, the mayor in Bø says they have granted a dispensation because they believe the advantages are greater than the disadvantages. In addition, he does not think there will be much pollution of the merdan. But the State Administrator is considering whether they should appeal against the municipality’s dispensation. If they do, the mayor of Bø has a plan: If the state administrator decides to finally put his foot down, the local politicians from Bø will appeal to the King in Council. – It is of course a bit unusual for someone to do that, but for me, as the mayor of a municipality that is crying out for jobs, it is so important to bring out the societal aspects that the State Administrator has not discussed in his letter, says the mayor in Bø.
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Bø municipality built a cod slaughterhouse without a permit – The State Administrator says no – news Nordland
