Norway: Government reduces aquaculture tax after industry concerns

A controversial tax on salmon farms in Norway, which was proposed in 2022 “to ensure that local communities along the coast and that society as a whole will receive a greater share of the value created by the fish farming industry,” has been modified. Originally proposed at 40, the resource rent tax is now planned to be 35. The government said the salmon industry, which “generates particularly high earnings,” uses a common good resource, and “all of us should be able to derive greater benefit from the significant value that is created.” The tax is based on the market price of salmon when they are removed from the pens.

The Finance Ministry said its proposal, which mirrors a tax on the petroleum industry in Norway’s waters, “sees society receive a share of the profits generated from the utilisation of its natural resources that have served Norway well. The resource rent tax on petroleum has played an essential role in building up the Government Pension Fund of Norway. We are continuing this tradition by also introducing a resource rent tax on aquaculture, which will make it possible to create employment and generate earnings, while local communities and society as a whole are also able to receive a share of this value by making coastal areas available to the industry,” the ministry said.

It said that a standard deduction of NOK 70 million means that only companies with significant profits will pay resource rent tax. The tax will enter into force in 2023.

Denmark: Hørkram Foodservice hold semiannual trade fair with a new twist

Hørkram Foodservice A/S, one of the three largest Danish catering wholesalers and food-service suppliers, held one of its two annual fairs on 18-19 April in Copenhagen. The event attracted 4,000 visitors who could meet about 200 different exhibitors with all the well-known brands. Many niche producers and suppliers were also present.

For 50 years Hørkram Foodservice has provided a full range of seafood and other products, and a full array of supplies, to everyone in the food service industry “whether a gourmet restaurant or a nursing home,” said a company official.

After decades of providing attendees with a large fair restaurant featuring a sumptuous buffet, Hørkram Foodservice decided to try a new twist this year—a street food concept with smaller, lighter dishes. Street food is very popular in Copenhagen, for its affordability and convenience. For Hørkram Foodservice it was practical considerations—mainly a lack of space for a full-scale restaurant—that spurred the change. The venue featured a rustic décor adorned with tulips and microgreens to complement the cloudless spring weather. The concept proved very popular and will continue to be a part of their fairs held each year in Copenhagen and Fredericia.

In business for half a century, Hørkram Foodservice offers 30,000 unique items to the catering and food service industry. By long-standing tradition, this year’s second fair will be held in Fredericia, in south-central Jutland, on 4-5 October.

Belgium: Interests call for reduction or elimination of fishing fuel subsidies

Facing challenging years, the EU has offered incentives such as fuel subsidies to fishing fleets. But such subsidies conflict with EU efforts to “be green” because the subsidies don’t encourage more efficient vessels or lessen their “carbon footprint.” Plus, the subsides cost money: they cost the EU (and taxpayers) between 700 million and 1,4 billion euros a year. A recent report reminds the Commission of these facts. https://our. fish/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ SFFS-FINAL-REPORT_V5.pdf

The report calculates, over the decade 2010-2020, the tax exemption for large- and smallscale fleets and compares them with land-based activities and determines the money can be better spent in ways that help the fishing industry. Support that doesn’t in any way encourage reduced use of fossil fuels, or innovation to become more “green,” is not in the EU’s or the public’s best interests, the report finds.

Estonia: Cormorants appetite for fish triggers legal conflict

Cormorants, a protected sea bird, eat much of the Baltic Sea’s fish. Fishermen and fish farmers, detest the bird’s love of seafood, it is even on an Estonian hunting schedule, but sportsmen have not so far solved the problem. But there is no problem, says the Estonian Ornithological Society, which has challenged in court a government rule allowing the spraying of cormorant eggs with oil (which prevents hatching). They say reports from numerous government and private bodies stating that 33,000 pairs of cormorants devour thousands of tonnes of Estonian fish are not important. The court challenge to government rules to restrict cormorant populations has evoked the expected reactions. Ornithologists say that oiling eggs will not cause the birds to leave the territory and is ineffective. Also, the cormorant eats the round goby, an invasive species with no commercial value that fishermen equally detest. The Ornithological Society also testified that the catch of fish by Estonian fishermen has almost doubled in recent years.

Due to human activity, cormorants almost went extinct in the 1970th. The EU Birds Directive adopted in 1979 made illegal to kill, capture, disturb them, destroy, or rob their nests. The measures have helped the cormorant population in Europe to bounce back showing over twenty-fold increase within the past 30 years, reaching about two million.

On the other side of the contest are coastal fishers’ groups and the government. Fishers’ groups sound alarms about the increased numbers of cormorants in the Väinameri Strait, in the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland, as well as in the vicinity of the Pärnu River. According to fishermen, the intensive breeding of cormorants threatens Estonian fish stocks, the state of nature and the successful spawning of fish, especially salmon and European smelt.

The government, which has decided the bird is not an endangered species but that Estonian fish may be, has concluded its oil spraying policies and other efforts will solve the issue. The case will now be settled in court.

Belgium: European Commission targets illegal tuna fishing in Indian Ocean

With a large distant-water purse seine fleet in the Indian Ocean, the EU has an interest in the sustainable management of that area’s tropical tuna fisheries. As a member of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the EU works with other countries to sustain fisheries’ development in that region. The vast Indian Ocean supports valuable fisheries for yellowfin, skipjack, and other tunas. But IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing remains a problem. As an IOTC member, the EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries recently proposed a number of measures to combat illegal fishing and otherwise maintain the fisheries. Among them:

• A multi-annual plan for the management of tropical tunas, to improve the management of the three tropical tuna stocks (yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack), lasting for three years, to bring down the level of catches in line with scientific advice. Within the plan, the EU proposed a proportional catch reduction taking into account both the current level of catches for each IOTC member and their development status to ensure that developing countries are treated fairly

• A scheme for the boarding and inspection of vessels in the high seas

• An update of the rules of the IOTC Compliance Committee to improve the compliance process to make sure that fishing activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and conservation measures

• A new resolution for the management of drifting FADs (fish aggregating devices, which are important in tuna fisheries). The EU’s objective is to improve the obligations that are technically difficult to implement, to clarify unclear provisions, and to align the text to scientific advice.

FADs and other IOTC regulations are a contentious problem in the fishery’s management. The EU commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevi ius, said “The EU believes that IOTC members should work in a cooperative manner and all efforts should be exhausted to reach consensus. Conservation measures should not include provisions that are not implementable or unclear. It is also essential that management decisions in RFMOs are underpinned by scientific advice.”