Fishing is a traditional, important and profitable industry in Norway. Norwegian fishermen harvest approximately 2.5 million tonnes of climate-friendly seafood per year, which in theory corresponds to more than 20 million dinner meals - every day - throughout the year.

Our fisheries, (says Fiskarlaget)  and our fisheries management, are also at the forefront when it comes to sustainability.

In the past, licenses have been applied for - and granted - for wind power plants in shallow areas at sea. This often coincides with our most important fish banks and spawning areas. Such important areas are defined based on natural conditions, and can hardly be moved.

At the same time, Norway has control over very large sea areas, many of which are marginally important for fisheries. For that reason, there should also be no need to develop wind power in important fishing areas.

The Skaga field (Skaga-feltet)

Image: Wiki / SB.no / FIS

The Norwegian Fishermen's Association has seen with growing concern that several county councils and municipalities seem to know neither the Ocean Energy Act's process regulations, the natural basis for the Norwegian fishing industry nor political guidelines for good coexistence.

"We are now particularly critical of the process linked to what many refer to as the Skaga field off the Vestfold coast", says senior adviser Jan Henrik Sandberg, who is responsible for offshore wind at the Norwegian Fishermen's Association.

He points out that there are important fisheries in this area. The Directorate of Fisheries has mapped important fishing interests in the area, but there are still areas that have not been mapped by the authorities.

Worried

"We note that the county council in Vestfold and Telemark has recently "decided" that the aforementioned Skaga field should be assessed for wind power development. Such an impact assessment according to the provisions of the Ocean Energy Act also formally means that the area is opened up for development", points out the leader of the Fishermen's Association.

"The county council's decision is made without there having been any dialogue with the fishing industry or the fisheries administration in advance", Jan Henrik Sandberg interjects.

He believes the decision is therefore based on incomplete knowledge, as well as a lack of understanding of what is required for a good coexistence between the marine industries.

On this occasion, it should also be mentioned that there are probably far less conflict-ridden and better suited areas to the south-west of the Skaga field, as, among others, the Norwegian Fishermen's Association has previously given input on.

"Vestfold and Telemark county council do not seem to have been aware of this when the county council made its decision", says Sandberg.

Expectations for the opening of new areas

NVE has now been tasked with identifying new areas for the development of a full 30 GW of offshore wind power.

"This will not only require large investments and state support, it will also require huge areas of sea", says Kåre Heggebø, and highlights a number of elements that the Norwegian Fishermen's Association considers demanding:

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• Large offshore wind power plants have now been shown to be far less energy and area efficient than many thought only a year ago. In order to be able to take care of our marine food production, it is therefore absolutely necessary to ensure that future wind power developments are as area-efficient as possible.
• County municipalities and municipalities have no formal role in relation to the opening and allocation of land under the Ocean Energy Act. However, they can have a certain political influence in relation to the opening of more or less conflict-ridden and unsuitable areas for offshore wind.
• The Norwegian Fishermen's Association nevertheless assumes that the government will ensure that new areas for offshore wind power will be opened and advertised in accordance with current regulations and principles for good coexistence.
• We also expect that no company should be able to have "exclusive rights" to areas, which are recorded to the authorities for a possible opening.
• The "Skaga case" also shows that it is absolutely necessary to make contact with the fisheries administration, and not least the fisheries organisations, before proposals are put forward to open new wind power areas.
• The authorities' proposals for opening new areas must also be submitted for public consultation. Only in this way will it be possible to take necessary account of fisheries and the marine environment, so that there can also be a good coexistence between traditional and new marine industries in the years to come.

Source: Fiskarlaget (Translated from the original in Norwegian)

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