It is quite understandable that consume fishers are frustrated over the state of the consume fish and over the restrictions imposed on the industry in connection with the EU-reconciliation, the common fishery reform, in December last year.

It is also, perhaps, understandable to a certain degree that these feelings of frustration cause certain individuals and certain organisations to target industrial fishing with their usual groundless accusations, as there is always of some consolation to find a scapegoat to provide a release for one’s anger. Organisations such as The Danish Society for a Living Sea and the World Wide Fund have in fact access to exactly the same scientific documentation, as do all others, and should try to resist the temptation to use both the Danish and the international media to fling out their traditional false accusations against industrial fishing.

The fact of the matter is, according to scientific calculations carried out by the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, that industrial fisheries by-catches of consume fish such as cod and haddock have a negligible effect on the numbers of these species.

Therefore, there should not be, not even in the present situation, any excuses for letting feelings run wild and issuing statements that are in direct contradiction of the facts.

Nils Chr. Jensen

Technical Director Ole Holm, Thyborøn, informs that decisions have been made to employ the new thermal incinerator, which is to be installed to reduce odour emissions in the exhausted air from the suction-unloaders, as soon as the equipment is in operation and will thereby relieve some of the load on the present thermal incinerator used to incinerate production air from the factory.

It was always the plan that the new incinerator should be dimensioned to be able to accommodate this need, though at a later stage. – But now we have decided to solve the problems with smells once and for all, says Ole Holm. – Though this has meant that the project analysis needed to form the basis for tenders has taken a little longer than first planned. This has also meant that the plant cannot be finished by the 1st August as is required for the factory to obtain environmental approval.

In 2002 the gross earnings for industrial fisheries increased by DKK. 218 million, which is the equivalent of 27%. The total value of landed fish was DKK 1 billion. Although amounts fell by 3%, average prices were 31% higher than last year.

It was a good year for sand-eel fishing and this type of fishing contributed with no less than DKK 572 million, which is an increase of 30%. Sprat was landed to the value of DKK 236 million, an increase of 19% compared to 2001.

World Wide Fund for Nature has once again furnished the press with incorrect information. The subject of ridicule is that it takes four kilos of industry fish to produce one kilo of consume fish in fish farms.

As published by the international organisation for fish meal producers, IFFO, it in fact requires fewer resources to produce nourishing and healthy fish to the ever-increasing world population by producing the fish in farms rather than in nature.

The publications show just how much consume fish can be produced with ten kilos capelin, in nature and in farms respectively. It turns out that this amount can produce 4.6 kg salmon, the equivalent of 2.8 kg salmon fillet in farms, while in nature; the same amount can only produce 2.0 kg cod, the equivalent of 0.7 kg fillet.

Looking at the amount of fish fillet produced in farming and nature (2.8 kg salmon and 0.7 kg cod), from the same amount of small fish, one can see that it is four times more effective to produce fish in farming rather than in nature.

Or to put it another way: If we need to produce more healthy fish in the future for the worlds growing population, based on the most sparing exploitation of the oceans resources, then it will pay to obtain this fish through farming.

Now the World Wide Fund for Nature knows the correct facts of the case.

- This move from the Danish Directorate of Fisheries is a direct consequence of the illegal by-catch, witnessed by industrial fishing, says Managing Director Nils Chr. Jensen, TripleNine Fish Protein, - so now we have to accept that we, in factories owned by the fishermen, have to spend time controlling our owners, which of course could be the source of some conflict.

The aim of this proposal is to partly come to grips with any illegalities and partly to obtain a complete overview of the consisting species in industrial fisheries, which could be used with great advantage as documentation during EU negotiations on the future and the conditions of this type of fishing.

As mentioned, at the moment this is only a proposal. Changes in the proposal may be made, but the proposal shall be finalised before it comes into force on 1st July this year.

- There has actually been a great deal of action on the Norwegian auctions, especially for blue whiting. We have managed to buy several shiploads for TripleNine, tells Helge Lyng Pedersen, TripleNine in Thyborøn. – We were supposed to have received them here in Thyborøn, but we still need at least half a meter more water depth at our loading pier to be able to accommodate the largest of these vessels. So we will have to send some of them to Esbjerg instead.

But according to Helge Lyng Pedersen, there is still hope, according to the latest plans for the harbour, dredging work could be finished as early as April this year.

- But hopefully the sand-eel season will be in full swing so we will first benefit from the harbour dredging work in the autumn, says Helge Lyng Pedersen.