January 13, 2017 — This month, the Swedish Marine Agency (SWaM) will introduce a new fisheries management system, based on individually allocated fishing rights, in a radical move away from the country’s previous regime.
The catalyst for this transition was Swedish fishermen, who identified that changes would need to be made in order for the industry to successfully implement the European Union’s Landing Obligation (LO). The LO – or discard ban – which is a central part of the reformed Common Fishery Policy (CFP), is gradually being introduced across the major commercial species. By 2019, fishermen will have to land 100 percent of all quota species caught.
Previously fishermen had been free to discard their unwanted catch, or species for which they did not hold quota, so the introduction of the discard ban represents a significant challenge to fishing businesses.
As industry identified, the existing collective quota management system in Sweden meant that under the LO, national quota could quickly become exhausted for certain “choke” species. This would result in all vessels using a gear type that could catch those species having to remain in port, regardless of whether they had quota left to catch other fish.
The potential consequences for large parts of the fleet and for processors, caused ripples of concern throughout the industry, and inspired the Swedish Fishermen’s Producer Organization (SFPO) and others, to seek a workable solution.