Danish fishing vessels from #Gilleleje caught trawling in the Sound

Magnus Eckeskog, ocean campaigner in Greenpeace in Denmark said: “Illegal fishing must be stopped. It is highly damaging for the health of our fish stocks as well as the marine environment especially in the spawning season. Also, it is an unfair practice towards the many fishers, who respect laws and regulations as well as those using low impact fishing methods.”

Unfortunately, illegal fishing in the Sound is an ongoing issue. Often it takes place during the spawning season of the cod from December to end of March. During this period, shoals of cod gather close to the seabed and enables huge catches in a very short time. The cod stock in the Sound is vital to the recruitment of cod in Kattegat as well as Skagerrak. For this reason, illegal fishing in the Sound is a threat to healthy cod stocks in these marine areas as well. EU regulations of fisheries  from February 1 to March 31 is put in place to protect stocks in a period critical for reproduction.

For this reason, from January to March, Greenpeace has kept an eye open for any illegal fishing taking place in the Sound.

The vessels caught red handed were less than 12 metres long. In one case, the bow of the ship has been cut off which shortens the vessel. According to EU regulations, Vessel Monitoring Systems, VMS, are mandatory for all European fishing vessels in excess of 12 metres length. VMS is a satellite-based monitoring system which provides data to the fisheries authorities on the location, course and speed of vessels. However, since the regulation does not apply for any of the vessels documented by Greenpeace, authorities cannot use this tool for monitoring.

Furthermore, both vessels observed and documented are mentioned in documents obtained  by Greenpeace through a Freedom of Information Request to the Danish Ministry of Fisheries. The request covers possible illegal fishing in the Sound in the period 1 January to 19 February 2018.

“For years, Swedish and Danish authorities have been fighting illegal fishing in the Sound, primarily carried out by Danish fishers from the harbour of Gilleleje. Still, some fishermen keep up their destructive and illegal business. Apparently, they are not scared off by fines or other consequences of illegal fishing as it looks today, and this needs to change. A couple of ways to do that is to scale up control efforts by the authorities and make it mandatory for all trawlers no matter length and size to install VMS,” Magnus Eckeskog said.

Prints from the fish auction in Gilleleje confirm how these fishers seem relaxed about their wrongdoings. In several cases, fish trawled from the Sound has been landed in the period of the EU fisheries regulation.

It is vital to protect the richness of the Sound and the importance it has for recreation and sustainable fisheries in the region. Illegal fishing must be put to an end with the measures needed by authorities. Besides, the Danish Government must support the protection of the Sound, not only from trawling but also from dredging.