MEPs in Denmark to assess challenges facing fishers and scientific organisations

Six MEPs from the Committee on Fisheries are travelling to Denmark to get first-hand information on the challenges facing the country’s fishers. On Monday, they will be in Skagen, to meet representatives of the Danish Fisheries Organisation and the Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation. Pelagic and demersal fishing communities in northern Jutland are currently affected by limited access to UK fishing grounds and tense fisheries relations with Norway. Later on, the MEPs will visit one of the world’s largest producers of fishmeal and fish oil. Tuesday will start with a visit to the Hirtshals Fish Auction and to a flume tank. For the latter, the delegation will be accompanied by representatives of the National Institute of Aquatic Resources. While in Hirtshals, MEPs will also meet with Danish Fisheries Minister Jacob Jensen, and European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis. On Wednesday, the MEPs will be in Copenhagen to visit the European Environment Agency (EEA), which collects and validates environment and climate data to analyse trends and produce policy analysis. They will also visit the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which provides the EU with scientific advice on fish stock management and conservation. The MEPs will also hold meetings with representatives of Danish sport and small scale coastal fisheries. Quote “I am looking forward to learning more about the fishing sector and marine environment in Denmark. As a...