Regulation
Ensuring our sustainable future
Predictability is a good thing. We want to be able to rely on Norwegian herring for years to come, so we've introduced a pioneering framework to control our industry. The framework helps to create value through the sustainable use of our resources and goods, while local organisations keep the guidelines firmly in place.
Whether we’re fishing for Norwegian spring spawning herring or North Sea herring, it is strictly controlled to ensure sustainability and the very best quality. Exporting is also regulated, which is why the government and local bodies work together with the European Union and other international cooperatives to put the guidelines in place.
Regulating seafood
The decision-making process is shared by a wide range of associations, unions and authorities, from environmental organisations to the Sami Parliament.
- Fishermen’s associations
- Fishing industries
- Trade unions
- Sami Parliament
- Local authorities
- Other relevant stakeholders e.g. Environmental organisations
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries
The Ministry drafts and implements laws and regulations regarding fisheries, the aquaculture industry, seafood safety and transportation at sea. It coordinates resource management, fishing fleet, licensing and admission to fishery and aquaculture.
The ministry’s main functions are quota negotiations, international fisheries agreements and national fishery regulation. They are also in charge of aquaculture policy and management, environmental sustainability of the aquaculture industry including fish health and -welfare, and licensing rules.
Norway was the first country to establish a Ministry of Fisheries.
Four departments: Fisheries and aquaculture; Seafood; Coastal Management and Marine Environment; and Research, Management and Administration.
Advised by institutions like the Directorate of Fisheries, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and ICES.
The Directorate of Fisheries
The Directorate of Fisheries serves as the executive agency for the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.
It is the Directorate of Fisheries’ task to ensure the regulations are complied with. This means setting criteria for participating in fisheries, technical regulations, sizes of catch and by catch, and time regulations for fisheries.
The Directorate also has the overall responsibility for management of the Fish Farming Act and the Aquaculture Act, as well as executive responsibility for following up political objectives related to aquaculture.
1900
Established in 1900.
More than 500 employees.
Three main areas of operation: resource management, aquaculture and coast, and statistics.
The Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission
The Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission is a bilateral management commission that sets and divides quotas for the most important shared fish stocks in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea. These are cod, haddock, capelin and Greenland halibut. The quotas are set on advice from ICES.
1976
Norwegian-Russian marine research cooperation originates in the early 1900s; the formalized commission had its first session in 1976.
The commission’s aim is long-term and sustainable harvest of joint resources.
Organized through working groups focusing on technical measures, electronic reporting, and stock analysis. Holds sessions once a year.
The North-East Regional Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)
NEAFC is the management organisation for the North-East Atlantic. The objective of NEAFC is to ensure the long-term conservation and optimum utilization of the fishery resources in its area, providing sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits.
1982
Entered into force in November 1982.
The contracting parties are Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland), the EU, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation.
NEAFC takes scientific advice from ICES.
Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO)
NAFO is an intergovernmental fisheries science and management body, which contributes to rational management and conservations of the fishery resources. The scientific council of NAFO advises the fisheries commission, which annually decides on the regulations such as quotas within the area that NAFO manages.
1979
Founded in 1979 as a successor to the International Commission of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF).
Applies to most fishery resources of the Northwest Atlantic except salmon, tunas, whales, and sedentary species.
12 member states from North America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. Four of these are states bordering NAFO’s convention area.
The regulatory chain
The regulatory chain is followed to guarantee every aspect of herring fishing is carefully considered and managed.
The regulatory chain
The chain has no set start or finish, but can rather be seen as a continuous process. The timeframe of the regulatory chain is approximately one calendar year.
LEARN MORE ABOUT NORWAYS COMMITMENT TO THE SEA
Herring is a delicious natural resource. Learn more about why sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
