Press Release

Results from the North Sea Conference, Bergen, Norway 13-14 March 1997

The results from the North Sea ministerial conference on environment and fisheries in Bergen have brought the questions of fisheries a good step ahead, the Ministers of Environment and Fisheries in Norway, Mr Thorbjoern Berntsen and Mr Karl Eirik Schjoett-Pedersen express in a preassrealease today. Schjoett-Pedersen and Berntsen are happy about the public focusing on the dramatic resourcesituation in the North Sea, and claim it having a positive effect. The conference, where 14 North Sea countries participated, has agreed upon to follow up several political obligations.

Regarding discards the most important step ahead is that EU has acknowledged that a ban on discard is a possible measure and that the problems connected to discard is a matter of urgency. The minsters participating the conference acknowleged the need of more accurate statistics on discard in order to obtain the best possible managment of marine resources. According to a proposal from Norway , the ministeres also agreed upon to strengthen the controll as to the catch in the North Sea and establish a cooperation between the North Sea countries as to the controlling of the catches.