North Atlantic Seafood Forum Sustainable fisheries

North Atlantic Seafood Forum

Sustainable fisheries

Honourable Minister of Fisheries

Mr. Einar K. Guðfinnsson

Ladies and  Gentlemen.

It’s a great pleasure for me to join you at this conference here today, as I did last year. On this occasion I would like to give you an insight to how important sustainable fisheries are, not just to Iceland but to fisheries worldwide. I will describe how we in Iceland manage our fisheries to ensure sustainability and emphasise how important an efficient management system is to this end. In closing I will discuss traceability, ecolabeling and the shortcomings of global fisheries management.

The waters around Iceland, fed by the warm Gulf Stream, offer exceptional conditions for fish stocks to thrive. Understanding the marine ecosystem is the foundation of sensible and sustainable harvesting of the living marine resources. A key role has therefore been assigned to marine research in Iceland. Marine research dates back a century in Iceland and the population is well aware of its role and the importance of the fisheries sector as it contributes around 35% of the value of the nation’s exports. Soon after we gained control of our exclusive economic zone it became clear to Icelanders that we were over-fishing our most valuable fish stocks. Various forms of fisheries restrictions have since been applied and there has been an intensive political debate on different approaches to management.

The importance of good fisheries management is clear for every Icelander. The Icelandic national economy depends on fisheries to such an extent that its management is a perennial task which is at the forefront of political debate.

There is a strong tradition for fishing and fish processing in Iceland.  The productive waters around Iceland have made us what we are.  But even if our waters are productive, they are not inexhaustible.  Therefore we put great emphasis on how we manage our resources and utilize the fish we catch. 

In fact, Iceland´s economy is so heavily dependent on fish resources, that we need to seek any means to make improvements in managing fisheries. We simply cannot afford to get it wrong!  And although solutions that are being developed elsewhere will most likely not fit our situation unchanged, they may very well do so when modified and adjusted. We also believe some lesson can be learned from Iceland to help improve the situation elsewhere.

But I have to be frank with you that we Icelanders have numerous unresolved problems to address. Nevertheless, we find ourselves making steady progress. No doubt, the close cooperation between scientists, managers and stakeholders is of importance here. I believe it is correct to say that in few places science-based management of the fish resources is as widely accepted an approach as in Iceland. While stakeholders may sometimes take a strong position regarding some aspects of the fisheries management and regarding the current status of the stocks, they will usually at the end of the day, agree upon the necessity of basing fisheries management on scientific advice.

This of course is best reflected in the fact that in recent years the scientific advice is followed very closely by authorities with very few exceptions. We furthermore continuously consult information from fishermen and operators to reflect on the situation. But we have literally speaking only one choice, i.e. to base our management on scientific findings, taking into account the fact that our scientists are in close contact with the fishermen on the grounds as a standard part of their daily routine. And we need to acknowledge the difficulty of the task to estimate and predict the productivity of the fish stocks. Therefore we need likewise to secure the necessary resources to support high quality scientific research that may be able to secure results that are of sufficient quality that will help us safeguard the fish stocks for the benefit of well managed fishing industries. We simply need to make every effort to maintain high-level research into the fish resources if we are to stick to our duties towards future generations.

Rights-based and market-driven fisheries, free of state subsidies, built on the best available scientific information, is the only solution to secure sustainable utilization of the fish stocks and the economic well-being of the people involved. It should be our aim to fully utilize our living marine resources, which should not be confused with over-utilizing fish-stocks. 

Most of our fish stocks are now almost fully utilized. Growth in the fisheries at this stage can therefore not be obtained through increased fishing effort.  Progress in building up the fish stock remains therefore an overriding policy objective of our government. We now put emphasis on getting more value out of the fish that we catch and on aquaculture.  We have been rather successful in this. Even though we have had to decrease the amount of the fish we take out of the sea, the total value has not decreased accordingly.  Icelanders spend around 30 million euros annually in assessment, research and innovation in fisheries.  To that we can add what the fisheries companies put into development of new or more valuable products. This is a considerable amount for a nation counting 300 thousand people and is an indication of how important the fisheries are for us.

During the last decades we have gathered knowledge, experience, as well as high technical capacity in fisheries. People with very different types of education choose to work in the fisheries sector in Iceland although we would of course prefer more interest. The complexity, the natural variability, and both the natural and economical environment make it a fascinating sector to be involved with. The fishing industry has to compete with other sectors for both people and financing and therefore always strives to increase the value it gets from the marine resources. I’m happy to say that we have had some success in this area.

Economic efficiency should be the fundamental base to fishing industry. Therefore I would briefly like to mention our fisheries management system. The present comprehensive Fisheries Management system is based on individual transferable quotas, ITQs. The objectives are to promote the conservation and efficient utilisation of the marine resources and thus to ensure stable employment and economic viability of fishing communities. Based on on-going research, the fisheries management system is continually under revision and development.

The management has three pillars, the general individual transferable quotasystem (ITQ), secondly the small vessels ITQ, where there are restrictions on use of gear and transfers of quota is limited to that part. Thirdly there are regional policy instruments, where a limited quantity of quotas are allocated  to vessels in communities that are dependent on fisheries and have been adversely affected by national fluctuations or other impacts.

In addition to the ITQ system which, together with the TAC (total allowable catch) allocation, is the cornerstone of Iceland's fisheries management, there are a number of other measures that are integral to the overall management system. There are regulations concerning the type of fishing gear permitted, e.g., the minimum mesh size. Fishing with trawls is prohibited in large areas near the coast which serve as spawning and nursery areas. Grids in fishing gear are obligatory in certain fisheries to prevent catches of juvenile fish. Extensive provisions are made for temporary closures of fishing areas to protect spawning fish from all fishing. In addition, the Marine Research Institute (MRI) has the authority to close fishing areas temporarily without prior notice if the proportion of small fish in the catch exceeds certain limits.

Today, we believe Iceland is at the forefront of fisheries in the world. We define our fisheries as a knowledge based, efficient industry, run by able management and employed by an efficient workforce. Icelandic fishing vessels have in recent years usually caught between 1.7 and 2.1 million tons of fish in the oceans around the island and in the high seas.  This catch is normally around 2% of the total catch of wild fish in the world’s oceans. 

Fisheries as such are a relatively well paid occupation though one must admit that the processing is unfortunately lagging behind. Due to increased efficiency, the number of people employed in fisheries, is declining. The technological advancement has led to that development. The fisheries debate is lively, although not in the forefront of political scene anymore. Icelanders are aware of how dependent we are on the the sustainable use of the wild resouces in the sea and therefore engage in the discussion. We the politicians need to listen carefully, balance different interests and address social issues of concern related to the fisheries management. 

Regarding the management of fisheries in waters beyond national jurisdiction, Iceland strongly supports what is stipulated in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and related agreeements on the rights and duties of  coastal states and finds it important not to undermine the Conventions or its related NY Agreement on straddling and highly migratry stocks in any way. We are of the view that sustainable usilisation of living marine resources should be in the hands of those with most at stake and who are most affected by the decisions taken. Management should thus be at the national or regional level.  A global approach to fisheries management is a dead end approach in our view. If those having a stake in a fishery  can not agree on management, enforcement and control, how likely is it that the international community would find a solution that would satisfactory take care of the diverse interests ? and how likely is it that the solution, if found,  would result in a sustainable management and adequate enforcement and control?

It is obvious that it is simpler to reach a conclusion within one country than it is when there are several countries involved. When more than one country has an interest in any given fishery, the relevant countries have to work together to ensure the fishery is well managed. This is never easy and sometimes negotiations can take many years without a fruitful conclusion. One could say that this experience has shown us just how complicated and difficult fisheries management is when many parties are involved.

I am happy to say that joint management of fisheries from stocks that occur on the high seas has been improving rapidly in the North-East Atlantic, after years of insufficient management which in some cases resulted in uncontrolled overfishing.

It is good to know that at a regional level we are seeing clear improvements in fisheries management. We all know that good management is the only way to ensure the long-term sustainability of any fishery, and thereby the long-term well-being of those who rely on that fishery for their livelihood. The recent improvements confirm that regional co-operation is the most effective way of ensuring good management of fisheries from stocks that occur on the high seas.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

As you might have recognised, not least this morning, ecolabeling has become a very important issue in fisheries. The Nordic countries have for the last ten years been working on issues regarding eco-labelling and/or another kind of documentation of responsible fishery management. This is to meet increased requirements from big buyers of seafood. The main objective in the beginning was to create a wide international agreement on guidelines for eco-labelling schemes. Guidelines of that kind were endorsed in a meeting in Committee of Fisheries at FAO in March 2005.

Before that process came to an end the professional associations within the Nordic fisheries discussed cooperation regarding ecolabelling without any result. The Fisheries Association of Iceland decided in early 2006 to create an Icelandic approach in this matter. Since then the Association has worked on forming two variants for documentation of responsible fisheries.

Firstly we have aimed at a declaration – a kind of a white paper - on how the Icelandic fisheries management secures responsible utilization of the living resources of the sea. The management system is based on sound science, good harmony between TAC and the scientific advice and strong enforcement. We hope the white paper will be ready within the next few weeks.

Secondly we have studied a system that directly certifies, by third party certification body, that a certain product is originated from a fishery under the Icelandic fishery management system. This system will fully be in accordance with FAO’s guidelines for Eco-label for Responsible Fisheries and could be ready later this year.

However, and let me emphasise. The initiative and the final decision is something which rest with the industry. This is not a decision which can or should be enforced on the fishing industry by the authorities. On the contrary. Our role is to participate, facilitate and co-operate along the tunes played by the industry as such.

It is worth mentioning that during the past few months we have noticed an increased interest from Norway and Faroe Islands to cooperate in this field and also that several other parties have offered an assistance. All this is currently under consideration.

Iceland is well equipped to tackle this issue. Weighing and registration of landing of catches takes place in all Icelandic harbours. After the catch has been weighed it is registered in the information and control database of the Directorate of Fisheries. The database keeps track of the catch position of the entire fleet of Icelandic fishing vessels and boats. After the information about the catch has been entered into the database it is accessible to everyone on the Net. This arrangement provides a great deal of transparency and ensures better control and inspection of the fishing and catch position of Icelandic boats and vessels. The system has served well in keeping the catch within previously determined limits. The actual total catch is very transparent since, with minor exceptions, all catches are landed in Iceland and some 97% of the total catch is exported. The management system is supported by other management measures such as closure of areas to protect juveniles, stringent restrictions on fishing gear, and use of protected areas to conserve important vulnerable habitats

Considering this I believe the Fisheries Association of Iceland should be able to create an Icelandic approach in this matter, i.e. some kind of ecolabeling, if this would be of interest to the industry itself. Cooperation between responsible countries would most likely be a constructive step.

To sum up. We all have a common goal, namely, to make fisheries and aquaculture contribute more to the well being of the people in our countries. To become an engine of growth.

To be able to do that we need sustainable, well managed fisheries sector at national and regional level where transparancy and traceability is highly appreciated.

Thank you for your attention.