Fishing organization will stop commercial tourist fishing.

Flakstad. Every year tourist catch over 15000 ton of fish here in Norway. This is about one third of the total catch of the Northern fleet. Now the Norwegian Coastal fishing club is asking the government to help control this problem.

The Coastal fishing group are receiving more and more report of tourist travelling to Norway for one purpose, commercial fishing. They leave Norway with freezers full of fish with the one aim. That is to sell their catch at local markets. This happens while local fishermen must divide 13000 ton among 5200 boats. Geir-Olaf Sørensen has reported this to the local press in Northern Norway.

The organisation has asked for better customs control so as to stop this mounting problem. A report written by Turistfiskeutvalget has claimed that this now is a threat to local fleet. Geir-Olaf Sørensen is not against people catch fish while on holiday but the law states that 15 kilos is the maximum per person. Among certain groups this legal limit is been broken on a daily basis.

Einar Bødtker at Junkerdal custom station has said they have yet to find anyone that has exceeded this limit but the numbers have proven this to quite the opposite. He claims that many of the people in question that are commercial fishermen will stop and declare that they are hobby fishermen, thus forgoing inspection.


Skot