The State Administrator in Rogaland will investigate the competence of Liv Signe Navarsete after she, in her role as State Administrator, ran over her own professional department and changed a decision on a fishing ban in the Lærdal River. The annulled decision meant that David Beckham was nevertheless allowed to fish in the Lærdale River this week, where Navarsete’s husband is among the river owners. A picture of the football celebrity with a fishing rod has gone around the world, even if the local population has cared less. Lice and few fish mean that fishing for salmon in what is the king’s favorite river is basically forbidden. – Of course I didn’t know who was going to fish, says Liv Signe Navarsete. Odd Helge Brugrand Navarsete explains to Bergens Tidende that the original decision was based on “an unfinished research report” on stockfishing (see fact box). The aforementioned report weakens the rationale for stockfishing, where the salmon are milked and the salmon roe and thus “helped” to reproduce – on land. The report indicates that this “land fry” cannot compare to the one that is conceived naturally – in the rivers. What is stock fish? Broodfish are the fish that are used for artificial reproduction. It is often caught before it is ready to spawn and is kept in flowing water or its own pool and/or facilities. When the brood fish is sexually mature and ready to spawn, he must be casted. Spawning means that roe and milk are taken from the fish ready to spawn and are mixed so that the eggs are fertilized. A salmon has about 500 eggs. Source: labora.no – No river owner gets five cents from the donations To news, Navarsete adds that stockfishing in the Lærdal River was one of the requirements when Østfold Energi received permission to build a power plant in the river. – These two points were the background for the reversal of the decision, she says. She rejects the speculation that the sale of “stock fish quotas” is financially profitable or otherwise benefits the husband or the other river owners. – No river owner receives five cents from the donations given. Every krone goes into the foundation, which uses the funds for measures in the river, she says. She adds: – It would be nice if news stuck to the facts, rather than creating a story with headlines that will certainly get clicks, but which are free imagination. – Of course I didn’t know who was going to fish, I was lazy in the media a couple of days ago, says Liv Signe Navarsete to news. Her husband is a deputy member of the board of the Foundation for the conservation of Lærdal salmon. Photo: NTB – Will cost NOK 1.4 million in lost donations The original decision (May 31) to cancel this year’s stockfishing came three weeks before Beckham’s fishing trip, and came as a surprise to Lærdal Elveigarlag. In a complaint against the decision (dated 5 June), the river owners write that the refusal will cost NOK 1.4 million in lost donations to the Redd Villaksen foundation. The million income will come from what they characterize as “well-off salmon enthusiasts”. – These have the opportunity and willingness to offer donations far beyond what would be considered the value of participating in the stock fishery, it says. Three days later (8 June) the State Administrator responded by reversing the decision. Internally at the State Administrator, there were several people who were surprised by the turnaround, and on 14 June, Assistant State Administrator Gunnar Ove Hæreid contacted the government. In a letter to the Ministry of Digitization and Administration, he asked that the government nominate a state administrator to assess the competence of Navarsete. The ministry responded by sending the case to the State Administrator in Rogaland, which is led by former health minister Bent Høie. news has sent questions to Høie about how long he wants to spend on the assessment, but has so far not received an answer. David Beckham was allowed to fish in Lærdal after Navarsete canceled a decision. Now her competence is being checked. Photo from another trip. Photo: Skjermdump/Instagram – Of course I didn’t know who was going to fish To Dagens Næringsliv, experts in administrative law say that the “river case” is apt to weaken trust in the state administrator. Professor at the Department of Public Law, Eivind Smith, characterizes it as “strange” that Navarsete did not ask for a settlement administrator himself, but left the job to the assistant. To news, Liv Signe Navarsete categorically rejects that she has done something wrong or given David Beckham a slip of the tongue. – Of course I didn’t know who was going to fish, she says. – I read that in the media a couple of days ago. Meeting on the situation in salmon rivers The situation in Norwegian salmon rivers is the topic when Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen meets local actors in Stjørdal on Thursday. Last week, the Norwegian Environment Agency closed salmon fishing in 33 rivers. The background is reports of very few salmon so far this year. Farming and climate change are the biggest man-made threats to wild salmon. – The figures we now see for wild salmon are a serious reminder of the dramatic changes that have already occurred and continue to occur in our own sea areas. If this trend continues, this could be the weakest salmon season ever recorded in Norway, says Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen. Here His Majesty the King catches salmon in his favorite river – Lærdalselva in Sogn. Photo: Odd Helge Brugrand / news Published 26.06.2024, at 12.56 p.m
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David Beckham went fishing in Lærdalselva
