According to the the Nordic Council Environment and Natural Resources Committee, "The Nordic Region wishes to exert a positive influence on the revision of the EU fisheries policy. The current Common Fisheries Policy has major shortcomings and many consider it a fiasco. Nordic models will be presented to the EU in an attempt to inspire a more successful and sustainable policy.”

"The new fisheries policy must address problems like overfishing and throwback. The Nordic countries should inform the EU of the solutions that we have already implemented, and which work well, so that the new European Fisheries Policy can be as successful as possible," said the chair of the committee, Asmund Kristoffersen MP (Nor).

The revised EU fisheries policy is scheduled to come into force in 2013. The EU Commission published a Green Paper on the new policy at the end of April. Countries, organisations and other interested parties are encouraged to submit comments by the end of the year. The Environment Committee will submit its input in the autumn.

In a letter to the Nordic fisheries ministers, who will meet in Iceland in early July, the Environment Committee welcomes the Council of Ministers’ initiative. The Committee stresses, however, that many questions, such as throwback (discards) of fish, cannot wait for the new policy to come into force and must be addressed immediately.  The Committee also called on the the fisheries ministers from the Nordic countries that are members of the EU to play an active role throughout the process.

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