Today the Government of Norway released its integrated management plan for the Barents Sea and the ocean areas off the Lofoten Islands.

“This is a good plan which ensures that fisheries and petroleum activity in the North can be undertaken in an environmentally responsible manner,” says Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

“The plan provides a foundation for creating new jobs and economic growth by applying excellent environmental technology, strict environmental demands and close supervision. Petroleum activity will be allowed in important areas outside Troms and Finnmark. Environmentally valuable areas off the coast of Lofoten, Vesterålen and Troms will not be opened to petroleum activity in this election term,” says Mr. Stoltenberg.

The integrated management plan
The aim of the integrated management plan, a proposition to the Storting, is to facilitate long term value creation based on the resources in these ocean areas, while securing the environment. To achieve this, the effects of petroleum activities, transport and fisheries must be understood together. The most important challenges facing the area are transboundary pollution, continued development of ecosystem-based fisheries, combating illegal fishing in the Barents Sea, introduced species and good risk management with regard to oil spills.

The integrated management plan proposes systematic supervision of the ocean environment and measures for managing ocean resources based on the ecosystem. It also emphasises the importance of reducing the risk of oil spills from transport or petroleum activities. There shall be a high level of protection of the most valuable ocean areas.

“The management plan ensures a global responsibility for the Barents Sea by protecting vulnerable environmental values,” says Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy.

“The plan is at the forefront of international environmental policy where all human activity must take account of the environment in the Northern ocean areas,” Ms Bjørnøy says.

The plan emphasises the importance of seeing harvesting from the sea and fisheries in conjunction and in view of the total ecosystem. This implies that all parts of the ecosystem must be taken into account so that also any vulnerable or endangered species and their nutritional needs are taken care of.

Balanced commercial interests
The plan provides a foundation for a sustainable commercial development in the North.“Based on the results from this process, the Government has established the foundation for a responsible exploitation of the natural resources in this very interesting petroleum province, in coexistence with other harvesters of the sea, and within secure environmental boundaries,” says Mr. Odd Roger Enoksen, Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

“For the petroleum activity this means that the framework conditions in the Barents Sea now are predictable,” Mr. Enoksen says.

In the integrated management plan particular attention has been paid to the interests of the fisheries.

“The plan will ensure a more cohesive and systematic supervision of this Northern part of the ocean outside Norway. Therefore, it is of key importance for a sustainable harvesting of marine resources and for ensuring predictability for the fishing industry. The increased focus on surveillance of foreign pollutants is also important in order to document to our markets that the fish originates from clean seas and therefore is safe for consumption,” says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

The Government's conclusions with regard to the boundaries for petroleum activity are:

1. Bear Island
2. • Petroleum activity shall not be undertaken in a zone of 65 kilometres around Bear Island.
   • The Bear Island Nature Reserve will be extended to the 12 nautical mile territorial boundary.

2. The areas around the ice-edge and the polar front
3. • Petroleum activity shall not be undertaken in the areas around the ice-edge and the polar front.

3. The coastal zone along Troms and Finnmark extending to the border with Russia
4. • Petroleum activity shall not be undertaken in a zone of 35 kilometres from the baseline along the coast from Troms II to the border of Russia.

4. Tromsøflaket

• At Tromsøflaket, limitations for the areas near the coast will be as described above under 3.
• Outside the 65 kilometer zone exploration drilling in oil-bearing formations will not be allowed between 1 March and 31 August.

5. Nordland VII and Troms II

• Petroleum activity shall not be undertaken in Nordland VII and Troms II in this election term.
• For the areas Nordland VII and Troms II research and mapping projects of the seabed, seabirds and geology will be carried out.
• • SEAPOP (mapping of seabirds) will prioritise mapping of Lofoten/Vesterålen.
  • MAREANO (mapping of the seabed) will prioritise mapping of Lofoten/Vesterålen.
  • The geological mapping, including seismic surveys, will be done by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. No impact assessment studies for opening of Nordland VII or Troms II will be initiated in this election term. The issue of petroleum activity in these areas will be evaluated again in connection with the revision of the management plan in 2010.

6. Nordland VI

• Petroleum activity shall not be undertaken in Nordland VI in this election term.

7. Eggakanten

• For the Eggakanten north of Tromsøflaket and further north research and mapping projects of the seabed, seabirds and geology will be carried out. The geological mapping, including seismic surveys, will be done by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.
• • SEAPOP (mapping of seabirds) and MAREANO (mapping of the seabed). Mapping shall initially prioritise this area.

8. Remaining areas in the Barents Sea

• Areas in the Barents Sea south, where limitations to the petroleum activity as mentioned above has not been made, no license-specific conditions should apply, except the condition of no discharge to sea during normal operation. This means that license-specific conditions, like for example limitations on exploration drilling, will no longer apply.

9. Revision

The integrated management plan will be updated at regular intervals. The first update will take place in 2010.

Maps over the boundaries for petroleum activities

Safer transport at sea
The integrated management plan also includes measures to ensure the continued low risk of pollution from sea transport when the activity level in the areas increases as planned. The establishment of mandatory sailing routes beyond territorial waters and the establishment of a traffic control central for Northern Norway in Vardø, are important measures ensuring safer transport at sea and safekeeping the environment against spills.

“The integrated management plan underscores the importance of continuing the efforts to improve safety at sea and oil spill contingency and response. The establishment of sailing routes beyond territorial waters is decisive in this respect,” says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

Combating unregulated fishing
The Norwegian Government is deeply concerned about the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing taking place in the Barents Sea. Therefore, amongst other measures, closer cooperation with Russia, the European Union and other governments are under establishment to prevent the international landing and trading of illegally caught fish.

Generating greater insight
The integrated management plan is based on the extensive knowledge available of the affected areas of the Northern oceans outside Norway, but it also reveals a need for greater knowledge. The Government will give priority to generating greater knowledge through mapping, research and surveillance. A surveillance group representing a broad spectrum of knowledge will coordinate the surveillance of these ocean areas , and a broad forum will be established to assess environmental risk caused by spills. Additionally, the knowledge of the petroleum potential in selected areas will be increased through measures such as seismic surveys.

The integrated management plan establishes a more coordinated system of surveillance which enables Norway to follow the development of the environmental situation in these ocean areas in all sectors. The plan covers the period until 2020, but a continuous follow-up of the plan will be conducted through a regular updating of the work in a cross-sector forum.

“In this manner, new measures will be identified and implemented on the basis of new knowledge and changes in the natural environment,” says Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy.

The integrated management plan for the Barents Sea is a first step towards establishing integrated management plans for all coastal and ocean areas of Norway.

More information:

The Office of the Prime Minister: http://www.odin.dep.no/smk/english/bn.html
The Ministry of the Environment: http://www.odin.dep.no/md/english/bn.html
The Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs: http://www.odin.dep.no/fkd/english/bn.html
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy: http://www.odin.dep.no/oed/english/bn.html