Fishermen campaign in Finnmark in protest against the quota announcement – NRK Troms and Finnmark

The ports in both Hammerfest, Honningsvåg, Kjøllefjord and Vardø will be blocked by fishermen on Tuesday afternoon.

The actions have already had consequences.

This morning, Hurtigruten was forced to sail past Hammerfest and the action taking place there.

Deputy leader Stig Meyer of the Hammerfest fishing association is among the fishermen blocking the harbour.

– That is the background for how the agreement was reached with the third country quota. It didn’t go very well, so to speak, says Meyer.

– The second thing we are reacting to, and which I think many people are upset about: is that the politicians know how the agreement came about, and how much opposition there is to it, and still choose to vote it through, says Meyer.

The minister in Vardø

While the actions along the coast of Finnmark are ongoing, the fresh Minister of Fisheries and the Sea is in Vardø. This morning, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, who herself is from Hammerfest, visited the national seafood line at Vardø upper secondary school.

The minister says she understands the frustration, especially in a municipality as dependent on fisheries as Vardø.

– I have received a lot of constructive input here today, which I want to take a closer look at. But then it is still a fact that there will be a reduction in quotas. We are in a period with less fish, we have to deal with that.

Student Geir Somby says he will not be directly affected by lower quotas and changes in the distribution, but he reckons it could affect his own situation.

– It is about jobs and workplaces. It creates a domino effect. and jobs are affected from fisherman to user, to delicatessen to finally the end user.

Somby states that it is the customer who buys the fish who suffers the most when there is a poor supply of fish.

– Less access means more expensive cod and other fish. Everything is getting more expensive, he says.

Majority for new quota notification

Only a small minority of politicians will make major changes in how the right to fish is distributed. Including two defectors from the Center Party, who are not impressed with their own party and government.

SV, Rødt and MDG believe that the quota report fails to correct the old injustice that the National Audit Office has pointed out: Coastal communities have lost both quotas and the fishing industry, and young people who want to enter the profession are the losers.

SV calls it a quota robbery.

A broad majority, on the other hand, are proud that they have gathered around what they believe is a predictable fisheries policy.

Negotiations in the back room

– Some are so cursed that they are unable to talk. This creates commitment, says Stig Meyer, deputy chairman of the Hammerfest fishing club.

He is among the initiators of the action that is taking place in Hammerfest. He is provoked by the quota report, which was considered in the Storting on Monday.

He and the other fishermen react strongly to the fact that the largest fishing boats should be given priority when unused third country quota must be distributed.

They believe this has happened after secret SMS exchanges. These are mentioned by both Fiskeribladet and Kyst og fjord.

This means that the cup is clean for the fishermen, and that they are now campaigning.

Good dialogue with the police

The police in Finnmark are present during the blockade and have a good dialogue with the fishing fleet.

– So far, the operation has gone without any unwanted incidents, the police report on X (formerly Twitter).

Sailed past Hammerfest and Honningsvåg

– Because of the actions, we have seen ourselves forced to prioritize our social mission and regret that we have to skip the call with MS “Nordkapp” on the southbound route to Hammerfest, writes Hurtigruten press officer Øystein Knoph to NRK.

MS Nordkapp had to sail past Hammerfest on Tuesday morning.

Later in the day, “Polarlys” sailed past Honningsvåg on a northbound route.

– We have explained the situation to all affected guests, to customers who send goods with Hurtigruten, and to the partners ashore in the ports that are affected by the blockade, says Knoph.

The shipping company says it is met with great understanding for the choice it has made in a situation that is not about Hurtigruten, and over which the shipping company has no control.

– We assess the further situation carefully and make decisions based on the situation port by port, writes Knoph.