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Photo: Denmark's Pelagic Producer Organization
Esben Sverdrup-Jensen welcomes the Fisheries Commission's vision for the future of Danish fishing
DENMARK
Thursday, May 30, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)
In a press release, Esben Sverdrup-Jensen the CEO of the Danish Pelagic Producer Organization (DPPO) renewed hope and praised the Fisheries Commission’s vision for the future of fishing.
Brexit left Danish fishing badly hurt. Quota values of more than 1 billion kroner have been ceded to Great Britain and future revenue opportunities have permanently disappeared for vessels, processing companies and the approximately 16,000 people whose daily work is connected to the sector.
 "If Danish fishing is to be able to develop after Brexit, value creation must skyrocket and we must become more skilled in all parts of the value chain. Less must become more, or what is lost externally must be gained internally, as Dalgas was supposed to have said after the losses in 1864.
The fishery can lift a lot itself. Today, we have one of the world's most modern and energy-efficient pelagic fishing fleets, and with Fully Documented Pelagic Fishing we have taken ownership and responsibility for documentation of legal and regulatory compliance, data collection, climate impact, occupational safety and research.
But the sector itself cannot lift and remove the barriers to growth and development that characterize fisheries legislation in the EU and not least in Denmark. This requires political action. That is why we got an impartial Fisheries Commission, which shortly before Christmas came up with its recommendations.
 In the pelagic sector, we are excited about the vision for the future of fishing, which is the result of the work of the Fisheries Commission, and which is the common thread in the 17 + 2 expert recommendations, which are now the basis for the coming months' negotiations on a new political agreement on the future fishing.
"Central to the vision is a fishery that is, to the greatest extent possible, equated with other industries and operates on normal market conditions." This is what the commission's Troels J. Hegland and Peter Grønkjær wrote in a recommendable article in the Alting earlier this year.
In DPPO, we have been calling for a reform of the fisheries legislation for years, so that we can remove special legislation from the past and create the framework for a green transition and competitive development in Danish fisheries. You can read more about our recommendations at dppo.dk.
 Our vision is that in the future gentle pelagic fishing will be equated with running all other food businesses, that we will be climate neutral in 2040, that we will support continued innovation in sustainable solutions, and that we can pass on a healthier marine environment to the next generation of diverse fishermen and consumers.
Our vision can only succeed if there is political will to change rules and legislation which today make it almost impossible to generate capital for the next generation of green vessels, which block generational transitions, which remove incentives for more selective fishing and which not least has made it almost impossible for women to establish themselves in the sector.
No one produces food with a lower climate footprint than us in pelagic fishing. The answer to the global food challenges must be found in the sea - if we do it right. If we succeed with up-to-date and competitive framework conditions and a showdown with special rules from the past, then pelagic fishing can fulfill its potential as a beacon in the production of sustainable and climate-neutral food.
The experts in the Fisheries Commission have shown the way. Now it is up to the politicians to make their vision a reality.
I hereby pass the baton on to Mads Stadum from Jyske Bank in Skagen.”
You can read the DPPO's proposal for the Fisheries Commission's recommendations here.
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