Seminar on Resource management and the Nansen Programme

State Secretary Vidar Ulriksen

Göteborg, 21 September 2007

Excellencies, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

Our oceans are precious and have to be cared for. The oceans major role in providing goods and services for man is increasingly recognised. This covers all aspects from being a source for food and proteins to billions of people to being the most important area for trade and transport.  In addition and probably the most important is the global climate’s critically dependence on the state of our oceans.

Good management is crucial and good management requires knowledge.  This applies to all sectors and all environments. But maybe this is especially important for managing our seas, our coastal and offshore waters and the high seas. Our main aim is a management that secures a sustainable supply food.

Our management decisions have to be based on the best scientific information available. For fisheries and ocean management such information has often been scarce and in many nations around our world not existent. This was the basis for starting the Nansen Programme 35 years ago. Here I will use the opportunity to mention and give honour to the real driving force for the establishment of the Nansen Programme, the late Gunnar Sætersdal. He had returned from work within the fisheries sector of FAO to the position as director of the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen in 1970 and was convinced that Norway could play an important role in helping coastal nations develop sustainable fisheries. 

The tasks ahead to understand the mechanisms of the marine ecosystem are immense. To predict the level of a sustainable fishing pressure on different fish stocks has proven to be if not possible, so at least a task that requires good science, good equipment and boats, good time and lastly good management decisions.

The Nansen Programme has been a feeble attempt to assist developing nations to fill their gaps of knowledge. This included help to increase the knowledge of their fish resources, training national scientists and managers to utilize this new knowledge. The basic aim of the Programme has been to improve fisheries management for the benefit of these nations and their people.

Our approach to fisheries management has gradually changed from a single stock perspective to a comprehensive marine ecosystem approach. In accordance whit this so has also the direction and focus of the Nansen Programme changed. In the same way as we have changed our national approach and the North Atlantic fisheries management.

Norway has supported the Nansen Programme over this 35 year period with close to one billion Norwegian Kroner (or 120 million Euros), and it is such the biggest single programme ever for Norwegian development assistance. I believe the outcome of the programme, for the close to 60 nations that have benefited from programme activities, has proven that it has been worth every effort.

To get good or at least a better knowledge of the marine resources can be of immense importance to coastal states. Norway is probably one of the most apparent examples of this. Marine resources, living and fossil, provides for 80% of our export income. Likewise are the marine resources of major importance to a large number of developing nations. Mapping resources and learning to take the right management decision is however only the first step. Recent experiences have shown us this. There is a lot of profit to be extracted from well managed fisheries resources, money that should benefit the welfare of the coastal states.

However, harmful fishing practices and robbery through illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, so-called IUU-fishing, is a world-wide threat to sustainable and profitable fishing. Instead of benefiting local fishermen and the coastal states these new pirates take the profit. This is a threat both to developing as well as developed states. Here we deal with another difficult and expensive task that requires vast investments in monitoring, surveillance and control. The cost levels for such efforts are far beyond the capabilities of many developing countries.

The Norwegian government has therefore given prime priority to the fight against IUU-fishing. Our strategy is to focus at the markets, and to stop illegal caught fish from being landed.  This is a battle on many fronts at the same time. Bilateral cooperation with nabouring states is important. Agreements on port state control and control of vessels flying your flag within the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations likewise. And last but not least to develop a globally binding convention on port state control. We see progress on all fronts, but the battle will be long. Only with good cooperation and concerted efforts from all responsible fishing nations can we win.

I am sure we will win the fight against the illegal activities on our oceans. The challenge to steadily improve our knowledge about marine ecosystems and our fish stocks together with a better understanding of the effects fishing and other human activities have on the marine living resource and marine habitats, still prevails.

Therefore such activities that the Nansen Programme performs – both the operation of the research vessel and the most important efforts of the many scientists and technicians involved - are and still will be of outmost importance to good ocean management.

The Norwegian Governments and the Norwegian development cooperation have over these 35 years believed in the usefulness of the Nansen Programme. So has the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs and we have during all the 35 years supported that our Institute of Marine Research has engaged so strongly in the Programme. We also believe that the Institute has improved their ability to give good management advise to Norwegian fisheries management due to the experiences they have learned during the years onboard the Research Vessel “Dr. Fridtjof Nansen”.

To be recognized and awarded the Kungsfenan Award makes us all very proud and thankful. It supports our belief that the Nansen Programme contributes to well-managed oceans, and as such the Award contributes to increased efforts – to the benefit of all.

Thank you for your attention.

See also: Award to Norwegian development assistance in fisheries (The Institute of Marine Research (IMR)