Ladies and gentlemen,

When I was growing up, the recreational fisherman, with a rod in his hand, became an image of the fight for a clean environment.

At the time, acid rain was Norway's largest environmental challenge. Long-range air pollution led to dead fish in our rivers and lakes. Between 1950 and 1990 more than 9600 fish stocks were lost. More than 5400 stocks were threatened with loss. Acid rain wiped out the salmon from all the large salmon rivers in Southern Norway. In Norway as a whole, more that 18 salmon stocks disappeared.

Pollution was not only threatening fish. It was also threatening recreational fishing - a lifestyle and a tradition for thousands of people.

Luckily the situation has changed today. Acid rain has been reduced. Air and water quality is better that it has been for many years. The salmon is back - and with it the fisherman. In 2004, the catch of salmon, sea trout and sea char in Norwegian rivers was about 400 metric tons.

I am therefore glad to welcome you to Norway - and to a world conference dedicated to recreational fishing. We are in an important region for Norway's wild stocks of Atlantic salmon. This is also an important time of year. The season for salmon fishing has just started. They say that the catches have been good so far. It made national news when the king caught a salmon last week. This was not only because it was the king. This was also because the salmon was as much as 9 kilos. Most fishermen have to make do with salmon that are just over 3 kilos.

This conference states that fishing is life. Outdoor recreation in general has a lot to do with the quality of life. People need silence and wild nature. We have made 2005 our "year of outdoor recreation" to celebrate this important part of Norwegian culture and identity. We must save nature and resist pressures to develop valuable landscapes – also for the sake of our own health and happiness.

Personally, I am always grateful when friends or family give me a push to find the time and make the effort to seek the great outdoors. There is also a role for government here. Government must make nature available to everyone and actively promote its broad use.

In Norway, we have a common right of access to nature. This gives everyone the right to use the open countryside for skiing, boating, hunting – as well as for recreational fishing. This access is a valuable individual right. It comes with a responsibility to protect the natural environment and to respect those that make a living of its resources.

It is also important to work together to motivate people to choose outdoor recreation. Schools, nurseries and non-governmental organisations are important partners in our efforts to stimulate fishing and wildlife. One example is the Norwegian Association of Hunters and Anglers that makes fishing rods available to children.

This conference will look at partnerships across boundaries. With more than 30 countries represented, national boundaries are the first type of boundaries that spring to mind. But there is a lot to be gained from partnerships across other types of boundaries too. These are the types of boundaries that can exist between government, business, NGOs and different sciences, sectors and disciplines.

Fishing is also business. Outdoor recreation is a basis for tourism. Today, fishermen from all over the world visit Norway. Many of the Norwegian salmon rivers and fisheries are world famous. Tourism based on fishing with rod and other gear for cod and saltwater fish is on the increase. There are great values attached to recreational fisheries as well as in sports fishing. There is also a large services market offering places to eat, sleep as well as other tourist activities.

Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries. It can offer much needed development to poor countries. It should also generate income for people at the local level. In Norway, the right to harvest or fish freshwater fish belongs to the landowner. A fishing licence must be bought, or a national fishing fee if the area is owned by the state. Fishing with rod or line in the sea is free. The same goes for children under age 16 that fish freshwater species in rivers and lakes.

All tourism must be sustainable. Tourism must not lead to the destruction of the nature and culture that it is based on. We must keep our fisheries intact to promote tourism. We must avoid the situation from past decades where salmon and other fish disappeared.

We have acid rain under control. Today's biggest threat to Norwegian salmon comes from the parasite Gyrodactylus salaris, which came here in 1975. This parasite has the potential to wipe out entire salmon stocks in infected rivers. We have spent enormous sums each year to get rid of the parasite, river by river. We are trying out new ways of handling the parasite and will not give up before we succeed.

We have also established a number of protected zones for Atlantic salmon. In these areas the salmon and its habitat will be given priority over any activity that may be harmful. The so-called national Salmon rivers and fjords will protect about two thirds of the total Norwegian wild salmon production.

Finally,

It is important that fishermen and their organisations continue to debate environmental aspects of fishing, such as catch and release and overfishing.

It is also important to look at social and economic aspects of fishing, including the potential for rural development. According to the United Nations, at least one quarter of the world's marine fish stocks are over-harvested. Inland fisheries provide high-quality diets for the poor. These have also declined due to over-fishing, changes in habitats and withdrawal of freshwater.

You have many important topics before you. You are in a unique position to demonstrate and develop the strong links that exist between people and nature.

I wish you the best of luck with the conference. I hope you will have some rewarding days in Norway, also when you visit the countryside and hopefully try out your fishing luck.