The Danish fishing association, Danmarks Fiskeriforening, has demanded that the Danish government and the EU immediately stop the importation of Norwegian fish and fish products to the EU.
The fishing conflict escalated over the weekend when fishing quota negotiations between Norway and the EU broke down after Norway refused to sign the agreed quotas for the North Sea and Skagerrak.
“It’s a scandal that Norway has once more suddenly pulled mackerel quota issues into negotiations concerning the North Sea and Skagerrak,” Svend-Erik Andersen, the head of Danmarks Fiskeriforening, said in a press release.
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The association wants quotas in EU waters to be increased, as well as compensation for lost fishing profits over the first two months of the year.
Many Danish fishermen don’t have access to Norwegian waters and are still awaiting a new date to renew negotiations.
“A clear signal that we won’t submit to such scandalous treatment must be sent to Norway,” Andersen said. “It’s ridiculous that the political sphere accepts that the fishing industry can do without fishing options for months at a time.”
Parliament is due to discuss the fishing situation tomorrow, once the food, agriculture and fisheries minister, Dan Jørgensen (S), has explained the government’s position on the capsized quota negotiations.
