– It’s very annoying that everything stops, just because I want to get an education, says Emma Victoria Forsberg. This summer, the 16-year-old from the small fishing village of Kamøyvær in Finnmark had seen a boat she wanted to buy. The plan was clear: When she is not sitting at school on the fishing line Naturbruk from the autumn, she will go fishing. The problem appeared this week. She was refused by the Directorate of Fisheries to be allowed to join the number of fishermen. You must be in the number of fishermen to be able to work full-time or part-time as a fisherman. – They almost say that I have to drop out of school if I want to start fishing. Either I have to go to school, but I’m not allowed to fish, or I have to start working as a fisherman, but without getting an education. With both her mother and father being fishermen, Emma Forsberg comes from a proper fishing family. However, Emma has to put her fishing plans on hold. Photo: Gyda Katrine Hesla With both her mother and father fishermen, Emma Forsberg comes from a proper fishing family. However, Emma has to put her fishing plans on hold. Photo: Gyda Katrine Hesla Cooks and electricians The challenges of being included in the number of fishermen did not start this summer. Already last year, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries’ rules put an end to Emma’s plans. Then she received her first refusal for admission to the fishermen’s school, because she was studying specialisation, or general subjects as it was previously called. Basically, the rules state that upper secondary school students are not included in the number of fishermen. The reason is that going to school is considered a full-time job. But there are lines you can follow that provide a basis for admission. To be sure that they found a solution that was within the regulations, the family contacted the Directorate of Fisheries and received guidance on what Emma should do. Thus, she switched from study specialization to Naturbruk – a line which is aimed at fisheries and aquaculture. Nevertheless, she received another refusal: “Naturbruk has aspects that can be aimed at work on board fishing vessels. The Directorate of Fisheries nevertheless does not find that such education can be equated with the aforementioned educations (machinist/cook/nautical engineer), as these are more specialized and take care of more basic and necessary functions on board a fishing vessel”, the refusal states. Screenshot from the rejection letter. Emma Forsberg works as crew on her father’s boat this summer, but is thus thrown out of the fishing workforce at the start of school. Photo: Screenshot – They sort of say that what is needed on board boats are cooks, but not fishermen. It’s completely strange, says Emma Forsberg. Father Kjell-Vidar Forsberg and mother Anita Forsberg have chosen to engage a lawyer in the case, in the hope of getting the Directorate of Fisheries to change the decision. – It is one thing that they refuse someone who attends Naturbruk, which is aimed at fisheries and aquaculture. But then it turns out that you can study electrical engineering, cooking and other subjects, then you will be allowed. It’s shocking, really, says Kjell-Vidar Forsberg. Fisherman Kjell-Vidar Forsberg believes that the Directorate of Fisheries is inconsistent in its practice regarding who can be included in the number of fishermen. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg Fisherman Kjell-Vidar Forsberg believes that the Directorate of Fisheries is inconsistent in its practice regarding who can be included in the number of fishermen. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg – The villages need people like this. Father Forsberg also points to the need for recruiting new, young fishermen along the coast. – The fishing profession is an industry with many old people, and many men. The fact that we now have a young girl who wants to invest will create value along the coast, and in the home village, at the same time as perhaps preventing people from moving away. So Finnmark needs people like that. The villages need people like that. – But sticks are stuck in the wheels no matter where you turn and turn, says Forsberg. He refers to last year’s refusal, when his daughter went to study specialisation. In order to be able to work in research or administrative positions within fisheries, a higher education is usually required. – The Directorate of Fisheries, for example, they advertise positions where they would like people to have bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But you are not allowed to gain relevant experience at sea while you are studying. A rather big paradox, I would say! Emma Forsberg has been to the sea already and has been fishing on a youth quota since she was 12 years old. Photo: Kjell-Vidar Forsberg Wants to change the rules Alice Helleberg is a fisherman and chairman of the interest organization Hun Fisker. Helleberg knows Emma Forsberg’s case well. – I was very surprised when I heard about the rejection. Because the family has done what they have been told. To say that Naturbruk has no correlation with fishing is very special. So I am very surprised and sorry for Emma. Already last year, at the time of the previous rejection, Helleberg and Hun Fisker sent letters to the directorate and the ministry, in which they questioned the regulations. – This is a matter we are following up on. The time is overdue for a revision of the rules, says Helleberg. Alice Helleberg is a manager at Hun Fisker. The organization wants to promote women’s interests and rights at sea, give women visible role models in the profession, and contribute to increasing women’s experiences and skills. Photo: Privat – Idiot bureaucracy Also Storting representative Mimir Kristjansson from the Red party strongly opposes the regulations and believes it should be changed. – This is an example of completely ridiculous bureaucracy that does not correspond to reality, says Kristjansson. – It is completely off target to claim that a line in Natural Resources, with a focus on fisheries and aquaculture, is not relevant to work in the fisheries. Mimir Kristjansson believes that there is unfair discrimination at the Directorate of Fisheries in terms of who is admitted to the number of fishermen. Photo: Rødt The Rødt profile advocates that all relevant education within fisheries be put on the same page. – The current system actually discriminates against shark fishermen and the coastal fishing fleet in relation to trawlers, because the machinist training and chef training that may be relevant on larger boats are not so relevant on the shark. But there is, in return, the nature use line in the Nordkapp. So then it is strange that it should not count in the same way to enter the number of fishermen. Kristjansson believes the Directorate of Fisheries must make a new assessment of Emma Forsberg’s case, and is now asking the Fisheries Minister to clear things up. – When you discover molbo rules like this here, you have to clean them up. I am unable to see that there are any good or serious arguments for a young person who wants to become a fisherman and who attends what is in practice a fisheries subject at upper secondary school, to be refused a place in the number of fishermen. – It makes no sense, and then the authorities should sort things out. And if the Directorate of Fisheries does not do it, then Fisheries Minister Bjørnar Skjæran must do it, says Kristjansson. The Ministry of Fisheries does not wish to be interviewed in the matter and refers to the Directorate of Fisheries. The Directorate of Fisheries does not want to answer news’s questions either, but Acting Director of Communications Nadia Jdaini writes in an e-mail that they are aware that the regulations are ripe for revision. – For capacity-related reasons, we have not been able to send proposals for revised regulations to the ministry. This is high on our priority list, says the email from Jdaini. A common sight in Honningsvåg harbour: Sea, mountains, Hurtigruten and fishing boats. But if you rewind a few decades in time, there were far more fishing boats here. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg / news Having given up the boating dream – for now Kjell-Vidar and Anita Forsberg say that they have been able to speak to the person who guided their daughter to switch to Naturbruk. According to them, the person in question should have laid down and outlined a possible solution to the problem. Since Emma Forsberg took a number of subjects on study specialization last year, she only needs 65 percent of the lessons at Naturbruk this year. Thus, there may be an opening to apply to be included in the number of fishermen who fish part-time. Kjell-Vidar Forsberg emphasizes that he believes this is an important matter to get to the bottom of, regardless of whether it ultimately works out for his daughter. He points out that Emma is unlikely to be the last high school student to be refused admission to the fishermen’s number. Now Emma Forsberg has temporarily put her planned boat purchase on hold. – There is no point in buying a boat if I can’t use it, she says. Emma Forsberg hopes that a solution can be found before school starts. – It doesn’t exactly look very bright, after having received two rejections. But I hope it will eventually resolve itself. Photo: Kjell-Vidar Forsberg
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Emma from Kamøyvær in the Nordkapp is not allowed to fish while walking on fishing lines – news Troms and Finnmark
