The case in summary: • For the first time in several years, a decline in seafood exports in Norway is reported.• The decline is due to, among other things, smaller cod quotas and lower salmon prices.• Norway exported seafood worth NOK 80.6 billion in the first half of the year, a decrease of 1, NOK 6 billion or 2 per cent compared to the same period last year.• The value of Norwegian cod exports has fallen by NOK 316 million compared to the first half of last year, a decrease of 15 per cent.• Fishermen, such as John Einar Engen, are preparing for tougher times and are cautious with new investments. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – We notice every day that it is becoming more expensive to keep going. That’s what fisherman John Einar Engen says on Sommarøy in Troms. He owns the boat “Øyværing”, and delivers the catch a stone’s throw away from where his boat is docked. The fisherman could not imagine a better profession. – It is a free and beautiful life. Nevertheless, smaller cod quotas have meant that he does not dare to invest as he would like. – I have had a new boat in my stomach for many years. When the quotas started to decrease, I thought it would be too tough with a new boat. Engen chose instead to send the boat to a workshop so that it lasts a few more years. Blue halibut, cod, pollock and roe crackers are fished from the boat “Øyværing”. Photo: Aslaug Aarsæther / news Decline For the first time in three years, Norway’s Seafood Council reports a decline in exports. That’s what the CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council, Christian Chramer, says. Norway exported NOK 80.6 billion worth of seafood in the first half of the year. This is a decrease of NOK 1.6 billion, or 2 per cent, compared to the same period last year. Christian Chramer is managing director of the Norwegian Seafood Council. Photo: Aslaug Aarsæther / news Chramer says that the reason for the decline is about salmon and cod. – The cod quota has been set lower to take care of the important stock. Of course, this also affects the supply of fish to the market. We sell less and do not have the opportunity to compensate with pure value, he says. Lower salmon prices and a decrease in volume have major consequences for total Norwegian seafood exports since they make up a large proportion. Nevertheless, the golden age is not over. The decline comes after historic growth. – We have had a particularly long period of uninterrupted salmon growth, says Chramer. Lower cod quotas The value of Norwegian cod exports has fallen by NOK 316 million compared to the first half of last year. This is a decrease of 15 percent. The stock manager for cod at the Institute of Marine Research, Bjarte Bogstad, believes that the cod quotas should be reduced even more. – The fishing is a little too hard. The stock is still on the way down, says Bogstad. The quota advice for 2025, which came quite recently, is 311,587 tonnes of cod. It is 31 per cent lower than the advice and quota for this year. What the quota ends up being agreed upon by Norway and Russia in negotiations. Even lower cod quotas are bad news for the fisherman on Sommarøy. – It will be tougher in the future. We get less income. We cannot expect increased prices to make up for lower quotas, says Engen. He has been through several downturns in his 39 years as a fisherman. John Einar Engen says that the profession offers flexibility and freedom. Photo: Aslaug Aarsæther / news – We got through it before and we will probably do so in the future as well, he says. Because regardless of the ups and downs, he is most comfortable on the boat. And it has been passed down. – There’s my son on board, he says as he proudly points to a boat on its way out. “You must bring this one,” says Engen, who has a reminder that he must report to the Directorate of Fisheries. Photo: Aslaug Aarsæther / news Published 03.07.2024, at 06.00
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Decline in seafood exports – fishermen believe it will be tougher in the future – news Troms and Finnmark
