Tag Archives: Denmark
How fishing rights could prove key to the UK’s new negotiations with the EU
Over eight years after the Brexit referendum, crucial decisions about the UK’s future relationship with the bloc are about to be made. Decisions over softened immigration rules, the future of Gibraltar and wider economic access are all likely to be discussed as Labour prepares to negotiate in earnest for the first time with the EU as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement reaches its five-year renegotiation mark. Sir Keir Starmer, whose political career was catapulted into the limelight by his prominent support for a 2nd referendum on Brexit and an overall closer relationship with Europe, has sought to reset relations with the EU since becoming Prime Minister and will be scrutinized heavily over his choices in the negotiations. The discussions over fishing have seemingly jumped to the top of the EU’s priority list, following a number of disputes since the Trade and Co-operation Agreement. Despite relatively cordial relations between the UK and EU over the past few years, fishing has remained controversial. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
Vattenfall in conflict over compensation with Danish fishermen
Fisherman Jens ‘Buller’ Frich believes Vattenfall is acting “provocatively” with its demand.
A legal formality has created a deep rift between Danish fishermen and Swedish energy company Vattenfall,,, A demand that frustrates Thomas Rahbek Sloth, chairman of the association’s committee on marine environment and offshore installations. He calls it an “unnecessary bureaucratic process.” “Vattenfall is playing the fishermen against each other. The fishermen supported the turbines. We thought we were supposed to be partners. Now Vattenfall is acting provocatively. They want every single fisherman to seek compensation. That’s clever. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:56
European fishermen furious as Britain ‘breaks Brexit deal’ to block them
The EU is facing pressure from Denmark and Sweden to take action against the UK in the latest dispute over fishing post-Brexit. The UK has banned catching sand eels on Dogger Bank in the North Sea – a move which could lead Denmark’s fishing industry facing a potential annual loss of €18million (£15.4million). The sand eel is crucial for the economies of both Denmark and Sweden for their uses in pig feed and fish oil. Discussions over how the EU should respond have even included imposing tariffs on UK exports if the dispute escalates to a breach of the on Dogger Bank. Other coastal states are also understood to have backed the demand by Copenhagen for the EU to stand up to London. More, >>click to read<< 16:37
UK accused of defying Brexit agreement terms
Industry associations in Denmark have accused the UK of turning its back on the agreement struck over Brexit by placing the British part of the Dogger Bank off-limits – and the Danish industry is demanding that this must have consequences for Britain. ‘This is in defiance of the Brexit agreement, which gave EU fishermen permission to fish in British waters,’ state representatives of the Danish Fishermen’s Association, the Danish Pelagic PO and Marine Ingredients Denmark. ‘Britain has decided to prohibit fishing for sandeel on the British part of the Dogger Bank. It is a major issue of principle for the British to turn their backs on the Brexit agreement, and it is a disaster for the fisheries and the fishmeal industry, where sandeel has historically made up the primary share of the factories’ raw material,’ the three organisations state. more, >>click to read<< 11:20
Danish letter shows Charlie McConalogue was ‘hoodwinked’ in mackerel wars, say fishermen
Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue failed to take up an offer by Denmark to resolve a long-running row with Ireland over mackerel, which could have been worth almost €10m to the Irish fleet over two years. The offer, in a letter from Danish Minister for Fisheries Jacob Jensen, amounted to a transfer of 3,000 tonnes of mackerel to Ireland for two years, “without prejudice” to a long-term solution to the dispute. Instead, at December’s meeting of the Fisheries Council, Ireland appears to have been outmanoeuvred into accepting a permanent deal in Denmark’s favour, with a fraction of the share going to Ireland. more, >>click to read<< 08:14
Denmark pays out Brexit compensation
Compensation totaling DKK1.2 billion has been paid out to Danish fishing operators to mitigate the adverse effects of Brexit on the country’s fishing industry, including the loss of access to UK waters. The full payments have now been made within the EU deadline of 31st December 2023. Funding comes from the EU Brexit Reserve, of which the Danish share was roughly DKK2 billion. Of this, approximately DKK1272 million was allocated to the fishing sector and the local areas. The funds were distributed to different parts of the sector by political agreement between all Parliamentary parties in December 2021. more, >>click to read<< 09:38
Atlantic Enterprise: Large Shrimp and Halibut Factory Trawler for Ocean Prawns Canada Operations
Clearwater Ocean Prawns Venture (COPV), a joint venture formed by Danish fishing company Ocean Prawns and Canada’s Clearwater Seafoods, has expanded its fleet with the recent acquisition of a new deep-sea-capable factory trawler designed by Norwegian naval architecture firm Skipsteknisk. The DNV-classed, Polar Coded trawler Atlantic Enterprise measures 83.2 by 18 metres and is equipped primarily for catching and processing shrimp and Greenland halibut in Arctic waters. The freezer hold has a total capacity of 3,000 cubic metres across two decks and includes space for pallets. Ocean Prawns said the vessel will be capable of landing around 1,200 tonnes of pre-packaged, sea-frozen coldwater prawns each trip and around 2,500 tonnes of halibut per year. Photos, >>click to read<< o7:06
Fishermen Reel in 26-Foot-Long WWII Torpedo Inside Their Net
A fisherman landed an explosive catch while out trawling for fish along the sea bed in Denmark that was later revealed to be an undetonated World War II torpedo. Danish fisherman René Kloster alerted the country’s authorities after the torpedo became entangled in the net several miles off the west coast of the Jutland peninsula on Saturday, July 1. Kloster, captain of the fishing vessel St. Anthony, said that the torpedo was later detonated away from the coast. “It was huge. I have never seen such a big torpedo before. It is quite incomprehensible that such a big one comes up. You just have to catch your breath afterward.” Kloster said that this is the third time he has pulled up a torpedo. photos, >click to read< 09:47
Last Voyage of Two Irish Fishing Vessels Before Break-Up in Denmark
Two Aran Island fishing vessels which were approved for Irelands decommissioning scheme, recently completed their last trip before being broken up. The 17-metre Connacht Ranger and the 20-metre Conquest were photographed on their journey from Ireland to Denmark. Skipper-owner John Conneely, from the Aran Island of Inis Mór, opted to take the vessels to Denmark for scrapping. “Beautiful but poignant images of MFV Connacht Ranger and Conquest waiting to go up Neptune’s Staircase on the Caledonian Canal en route to Denmark for decommissioning. A stairway to heaven of sorts for two boats whose time is sadly up,” read a post on Twitter by Conneely’s partner, Mary-Frances Beatty.Photos, >click to read< 20:14
Versatile Trawler Stodig Heads North
Outfitted for shrimp trawling, seine netting and crabbing, F/V Stødig packs a lot of technology and smart thinking into its 39.30 metre LOA, 11.50 metre breadth hull, which is designed by Karstensen and built with a price tag of around NoK200 million. ‘We have been waiting for the yard in Denmark for nine months, and now we’re ready to get started,’ said Asbjørn Selsbane’s manager Andreas Hansen as he and his son Erlend, who sails as mate, brought the new vessel home to Eidkjosen in the north of Norway, with a call in Ålesund on the way to pick up gear. 8 Photos, >click to read< 16:17
New Norwegian combined trawler, purse seine and crab vessel heads north
It is the Norwegian fishing company Asbjørn Selsbane who, after a few months delay in delivery from Karstensen Shipyard in Skagen, has now been handed over their new combined and very versatile trawler and purse seine vessel, which can also be rigged for crab fishing. The vessel is named ‘Stødig’ and will have its home port in Tromsø. It is rigged with shrimp trawls and Danish seines as well as for crab fishing and also packed with massive high-tech equipment, with smart solutions incorporated into the 39.30-metre-long and 11.50-metre-wide vessel. >click to read< 11:08
The European Union’s Plan to Ban Bottom Fishing is Causing Widespread Outrage
The plan, which seeks to ban bottom trawling in protected areas, has caused widespread demonstrations, disruption of work in ports, and the launch of a protest movement by fishermen in France called “Blocked Ports”. Although the Commission’s proposals do not represent new legislation, and will not be implemented soon in a way that satisfies some environmental protection non-governmental organizations, they have been met with strong opposition from a number of member states. There was outrage in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Denmark, who feared the plan would endanger the entire fishing industry. The “Marine Action Plan” for sustainable fishing was announced on February 12, and it includes initiatives to phase out deep-sea trawling in protected areas. >click to read< 08:51
Fears Brexit will cause 1,200 job losses in Irish mackerel sector
Ireland’s mackerel sector will lose more than 1,200 jobs by 2030 because of Brexit, according to fishing industry representatives. The economic cost to the industry in lost revenue and impact on the local economy is also estimated to be more than €800m. This is according to an analysis of the impact of Brexit on the sector which predominantly centres around mackerel, blue whiting, and herring catches. In three years, from 2021 to the end of 2023, pelagic fishers will, for example, have lost a total of 37,508 tonnes of their mackerel quota, the amount the EU says they can catch. >click to read< 20:20
Future-Proofed Trawler for Hvide Sande
Taking delivery of a new trawler capable of alternating shrimping and targeting flatfish, Hvide Sande fisherman Torben Johansen remains optimisti, but he has few kind words for the current crop of politicians and what he sees as a long list of unfulfilled promises. The back story is that six years ago he ordered a new trawler, Mikkel Louise, to be built at Vestværft. The handover took place in 2020, just as the Covid pandemic hit and although the trawler fished well, the crash in the restaurant sector meant that sales of shrimp and whitefish ground to a standstill. The upshot was that Mikkel Louise was sold to Dutch owners, and Torben Johansen placed an order for a smaller trawler at the same yard. Photos, >click to read< 12:10
Fishermen join forces to tackle North Sea cod quota ‘mismatch’
Skippers and other industry representatives from Shetland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway and England met in Copenhagen to discuss a “quota mismatch” they are facing at sea, Shetland Fishermen’s Association said today. Vessels are encountering more cod than current official assessments, the industry group said, adding the recent talks in Copenhagen “painted a unanimous picture” of an abundant stock stretching across the whole North Sea and beyond. But quota for the species, a staple of fish suppers in many parts of the UK has been slashed by 70% in just three years. According to the SFA, this “poor science” leads to quota recommendations that bear no resemblance to the volume of fish in the sea. >click to read< 12:46
New trawler Linette makes a big difference
F/V Linette has been built for Alfred Fisker Hansen and Tommy Svart who had been looking forward for some time to upgrading to a new vessel, although this was delayed to the end of October. ‘We completed our first real fishing trip with new Linette, sailing on Saturday 6th November and landing in Thyborøn on Monday 15th November. He said that Linette performed perfectly throughout the trip. Photos, >click to read< 12:10
The U.S. is hungry for seafood, but more industrial aquaculture is not the answer
An often cited statistic to prove the need for industrial aquaculture is that as a country, we import as much as 90% of the seafood we consume. A lesser-known fact is that U.S. seafood exports have grown to record levels over the past decade. Rather than allowing destructive fish farming practices that can pollute our environment and displace commercial fishing in our markets, we should support our domestic fishing communities, so they can sell more of the higher-quality wild-caught seafood we produce here at home. Right now, megacorporation’s are pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies to gut existing regulations and fast-track permit approvals to build new floating factory fish farms and control even more of the seafood market. >click to read< 14:11
Danish Fisheries Hit by Crisis in Aftermath of Brexit
Going Full Crackpot! Sale of live crabs, lobsters and fur banned in Amsterdam markets
Fur and live crabs and lobsters will no longer be allowed to be sold at markets in the Dutch capital from 2022. Amsterdam city council has decided to ban the sale on animal rights grounds, a pledge that was part of the current city coalition agreement. ‘Amsterdam has 34 markets, the most in the country,’ said economic affairs chief Victor Everhardt, a D66 liberal democrat, in a press release. ‘In the interests of animal welfare, there will be a ban on the sale of fur and live crabs and lobsters, and it will be actively enforced.’ The city is not the first to take more action in the interest of animal rights. >click to read< 08:33
New Trawler Delivered From Karstensens Shipyard
In March of 2019 a contract was signed between Mats Johansson, Vingaskär Fiskeri AB and Karstensens Shipyard A/S for the construction of a new 34.00 m Trawler. The finished ship was taken over by the Shipping Company on 15 June 2021 after some delay, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new vessel is a state-of-the-art combi trawler, designed for fishing for both fish for human consumption and shrimp, with everything within the latest of machinery, equipment and equipment. The project as a whole has been carried out in a very close and intense collaboration between Shipping company and Shipyard. To review the specification, and 31 photos, >click to read< 12:30
Denmark to Build North Sea Island to Serve as Wind Power Hub
Denmark has agreed to build an island in the North Sea that would gather and distribute electricity from wind energy farms. The 210-billion kroner ($34 billion) artificial island will be created about 50 miles off the country’s west coast and will connect to several European countries. It would start with 3 gigawatts of capacity, enough to cover the electricity needs of 3 million European households, the Danish Energy Agency said. “The energy hub in the North Sea will be the largest construction project in Danish history” Climate Minister Dan Joergensen said Thursday. “It will make a big contribution to the realization of the enormous potential for European offshore wind.” >click to read< 13:35
Our fishery is not only neglected, but for sale
Imagine our centuries-old fishery taken over by a foreign country. Imagine a minister of fisheries representing our province’s interest rubber-stamping this proposal. Imagine the recommendation coming from a five-member all-male board with little experience. The unimaginable above is truly our reality for our iconic industry. Denmark has recently bought interests in the Newfoundland fisheries, with the aim to now purchase additional fishing companies. Those Newfoundland and Labrador companies they have bought have been operating here for many years. By gaining access to processing plants, Denmark will also gain control over the fishing resource through fishermen who have been given quotas for various species. >click to read< by Gus Etchegary 08:20
U.S. ratifies The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean
The United States has become the fourth jurisdiction after Canada, the European Union and Russia to ratify a landmark international agreement that aims to prevent unregulated commercial fishery in the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean, officials at the State Department announced Tuesday. The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean, which was signed in Ilulissat, Greenland last October, includes the so-called Arctic Five – Canada, Norway, Russia, Denmark (Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the U.S. – as well as the major fishing nations – Iceland, Japan, South Korea, China and the EU. >click to read< 17:56
Pompeo calls out Canada, China, Russia over Arctic policy. China entitled to ‘exactly nothing.’
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stunned onlookers Monday by taking swipes at Canada, China and Russia in a speech to delegates attending the Arctic Council ministerial. Pompeo, along with foreign ministers from the seven other Arctic nations — Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Russia — is in Rovaniemi, Finland this week for the eleventh Arctic Council ministerial meeting. Pompeo used his speech to call out countries he accused of making illegitimate claims to Arctic territory, citing Canada’s claim to the Northwest Passage as internal waters. The U.S. considers the Northwest Passage to be international waters. >click to read<09:57
US climate objections sink Arctic Council accord in Finland – click to read<10:39
New generation longliners
BP Shipping is unveiling designs for new longliners that are to be presented at IceFish, with plans for the new vessels already at an advanced stage. “This continues the very good co-operation we have had already with the Hvide Sande Shipyard in Denmark, which is currently building a 26 metre combination netter/flyshooter for owners in Iceland,” said BP Shipping’s Björgvin Ólafsson. “The new Hafborg will be delivered around New Year and will be ahead of schedule. click here to read the story 09:57
U.S. Coast Guard Unveils a New Model for Cooperation Atop the World
The United States Coast Guard announced Friday the creation of a new international forum for cooperation in the Arctic. Signed at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, the new Arctic Coast Guard Forum will include coast guards or similar agencies from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States. “Today’s historic Arctic Coast Guard Forum represents a critical step forward in our collective efforts to promote safety, security and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic,” said Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft. Read the rest here 10:50
Canada appears poised to sign international Arctic fish deal
“We can confirm that we are planning to attend a meeting in Norway with other 
coastal states to discuss further measures against unregulated high-seas fishing in the central Arctic Ocean,” Carole Saindon wrote in an email.”Details of the results of those discussions will be released at the conclusion of the meeting.”Canada, the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway reached an interim agreement in February 2014 to work toward protecting Arctic waters beyond the 200-kilometre territorial limit of their respective shores, an area the size of the Mediterranean Sea. Read the rest here 08:11
The Future of Fishing in the Central Arctic
Increasingly, it’s the future of fisheries that is taking center stage in the geopolitical discussions that come with planning for the future Arctic. This was made evident on January 15 and 16, 2015, when 40 Arctic experts from the United States, Canada, Russia, China, Iceland, Denmark, and Greenland travelled to Tongji University in Shanghai to attend the first “Roundtable on Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Issues.” Read the rest here 18:21
North Pole not ours, despite Harper’s bluster
Denmark has recently taken steps to claim jurisdiction over resources of the seabed in the vicinity of the North Pole. It’s a move that has rekindled concerns about international contention over coastal state sovereign rights in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. It also shines a renewed light on our prime minister’s ambition to secure the North Pole as a Canadian prize, which he is proposing to grab in a blatant contravention of customary international law. Read the rest here 11:33
Canada agrees to work to prevent fishing in High Arctic until there’s more study
Canada and four other Arctic nations have agreed to work toward a deal to block commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean until more is known about the potential of the resource. The agreement with the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway was reached late Wednesday in Nuuk, Greenland, after three days of talks Read more here 18:56
