Dutch-Norwegian Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Conference great success

On the 3rd of June 2010 a unique Dutch-Norwegian Conference on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture took place at the Havforskningsinstituttet (Institute of Marine Research) in Bergen, Norway. The overall goal was to exchange ideas, learn from each other’s approaches, identify challenges and explore possible cooperation. The conference coincided with the official State Visit of Queen Beatrix to Norway, in which sustainable fisheries was a key topic of discussion.

The program started with a project fair on which inspiring Norwegian and Dutch innovation projects were shown, including the results of a student exchange program between Norway and The Netherlands. In the afternoon an interactive Dutch-Norwegian debate on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture took place. Eighty Dutch and Norwegian stakeholders of the fisheries and aquaculture industry debated on challenging propositions. A debate like this, in which all different stakeholders discuss together, was a new experience for our Norwegian colleagues. However, that did not diminish their participation and it became a very interesting exchange between the two countries.

The main conclusion was that close cooperation among all stakeholders at both national and international level is the key to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management. In the complete report you will find more specific details and conclusions.

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs and the Fisheries Innovation Platform thank all participants for their interest and active participation.