Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has upset the whole world. The sanctions are numerous and coordinated. They hit the Russian economy hard. Recent figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that the Russian economy will shrink by 6 per cent, and further by 3.5 per cent next year. This is happening in a situation with record high oil and gas prices. Statistics Norway figures show that trade with Russia has fallen sharply in the second quarter. Our opinion is that business is aware of its responsibility and follows the sanctions. We register that several Norwegian companies have withdrawn from the Russian market. At the same time, it is understandable that many want a halt to all trade with Russia, as the Norwegian-Ukrainian Friends Association writes about in a chronicle on news Ytring. The government’s line has been clear from day one, and it has broad support in the Storting: Norway cooperates with our neighboring countries and the EU on the sanctions. The sanctions against Russia are important because they limit the country’s ability to finance the war. The sanctions therefore target both specific sectors of importance for the Russian defense sector and economy. The EU has so far not introduced an import ban on Russian fish as part of the sanctions. Neither has Britain. The sanctions also send a very important signal to both Russia and the outside world that such a gross violation of basic international law, such as a war of aggression, will be met with strong reactions. I think we can all agree that the measures are an absolutely necessary reaction to the Putin regime’s brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The effect of the sanctions will become even clearer over time. We see an increasingly isolated Russia with a drastic decrease in trade with Western countries as a result of the sanctions. The Norwegian-Ukrainian Friends’ Association wants Norway, in addition to introducing a port ban for Russian ships, to also ban Russian fishing boats. We think that is the wrong way to go. We must continue our joint sustainable fisheries management in the northern areas, so that we look after the world’s largest cod stock and the other fish stocks in the Barents Sea. We share the Barents Sea with Russia, whether we like it or not. And according to the international law of the sea, we are obliged to cooperate on the sustainable management of the resources there. Sustainable management is also a fundamental Norwegian interest – both for the Norwegian fishing industry and for fishing-dependent coastal communities. Without cooperation on management, research and control, there is a risk that the fish stocks will be fished down. Overfishing can set a stock back a long way, and we know that it can take a very long time to rebuild, if at all. Those of us who are old enough remember both the cod crisis and the herring collapse. If the fish disappear, our coastal communities will weather. It is not about economics, but about managing natural resources for future generations. Follow the debate:
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Without the fish, the coastal communities weather – Ytring
