Norway’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a Latvian fishing vessel that was convicted of illegally trapping snow crabs off Svalbard. The high court concluded that Norway, which has control over the Arctic island group through an international treaty, has exclusive rights to harvest the crabs. The Latvians’ legal complaint has been working its […]
Seafood industry hooks more profits
December 31, 2018
Seafood producers in Norway will be sailing into the New Year with solid balance sheets, high salaries and, in at least one case, extraordinary bonuses. One young skipper of a fishing boat in Northern Norway earns more than the prime minister. “Business has been very good, especially the last two years,” Line Ellingsen of the […]
Stock exchange takeover hailed
December 24, 2018
A constallation of several European stock exchanges called Euronext is offering to take over the Oslo Stock Exchange for NOK 6.2 billion. While its director Bente Landsnes calls the bid “surprising,” major investors seem to support it, with 49.6 percent already agreeing to sell their stakes. Svein Støle, one of the biggest investors on the […]
Seafood sellers wouldn’t shirk Saudis
November 29, 2018
Norway has officially banned arms sales to Saudi Arabia, following the recent horrific murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but seafood sales don’t seem to be a problem. Norway’s seafood promotion council was in Riyadh this week, despite all the controversy around the Saudi crown prince who’s widely believed to […]
Frigate’s oil spurs seafood warnings
November 16, 2018
Oil seeping from the mostly sunken wreckage of the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad has prompted state food safety agency Mattilsynet to warn against eating seafood caught in the area. Farmed salmon is also being checked for any signs of oil pollution. The warnings were issued Friday amidst plans to raise the stricken warship and transport […]
Missing missile fires up concerns
August 22, 2018
Norwegian fishing industry and environmental officials were expressing concern Wednesday over reports that a nuclear-powered Russian cruise missile has gone missing in the Barents Sea. The area is both environmentally sensitive and a rich fishing grounds, raising fears of nuclear contamination. Nils Bøhmer of the environmental organization Bellona is among those worried by a CNBC […]
Solberg reins in errant minister
August 1, 2018
Prime Minister Erna Solberg has broken her initial silence over Fisheries Minister Per Sandberg’s controversial summer holiday in Iran. Now she claims there’s “no doubt” he should have reported where he was going before leaving for Iran, and that he thus has violated government regulations. “I have spoken with Per Sandberg,” Solberg told reporters when […]
Holiday in Iran hounds minister
July 31, 2018
Fisheries Minister Per Sandberg claims his summer holiday in Iran this month was strictly private, but it’s been raising plenty of very public questions. That’s because Sandberg, from the anti-immigration Progress Party that wants to restrict refugee arrivals in Norway, traveled to the controversial country with a woman who came to Norway as an asylum […]
Seafood sales soar to another record
July 16, 2018
Even though salmon prices recently sank from record highs, Norway’s seafood industry is swimming in profits. High prices for cod and salmon last winter, along with the reopening of important markets, are likely to generate record revenues of NOK 100 billion this year. Exports during the first half brought in a record NOK 48.1 billion […]
Whale quota raised as hunt declines
March 9, 2018
Norway’s fisheries minister, Per Sandberg, has raised the quota for the country’s controversial whale hunt to a level that’s three times the size of last year’s total catch. He claims he’s simply trying to keep the hunt alive. “Norway has a viable whaling business, despite zero subsidy and that Japan is the only market outside […]
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