Norwegian Fjord Fisheries Committee elected new members

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskeridirektoratet, in its Norwegian name) announced that earlier this month, the Norwegian Fjord Fisheries Committee held a constitutive meeting in Tromsø where it elected its new members.

The Fjord Fisheries Committee is an advisory body aimed at strengthening the management of fjord fisheries, with special emphasis on the use by the Sami people and the importance of this use for the local Sami communities. Its scope includes the three northern Norwegian counties of Finnmark, Troms, and Nordland, and its members serve on it for a maximum of two consecutive years, while the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries acts as its secretariat.

Among its main tasks are assessing the status and development of local coastal fisheries, as well as collecting scientific, local, and traditional knowledge on important spawning and nursery areas of the exploited stocks near the coast and in the fjords. All of this, as said, giving priority to Sami use and its importance to Sami communities.

In addition, it is also responsible for assessing both the location of fjord lines indicating where fishing is prohibited for vessels over 15 meters and what exceptions are appropriate, as well as the annual need for additional cod quotas in the open group and how such quota can best be distributed to strengthen local fjord fisheries, with an emphasis, again, on Sami use and communities.

Focus on initiatives to promote coastal and Sami communities

The members of the Committee, as well as their personal deputies - which can be viewed here -, are appointed by the Sami Parliament and the three county municipalities. For the two-year period 2025 to 2027, the elected members are Ken-Richard Hansen, Sisilie Skagen Frantzen, Knut Werner Hansen, Randi Karlstrøm, Sandra Márjá West, and Jo Inge Hesjevik, the latter two being, in addition, Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively.

The newly elected Chair, Sandra Márjá West, lives in Tromsø, but is originally from Kåfjord. She has been a member of the Sami Parliament since 2013 for the Norwegian Sami Association (NSR), and has served several terms as a member of the Sami Parliament's Business and Culture Committee. She currently works as a policy advisor to the Sami Parliamentary Council, dealing with fisheries and salmon issues.

"I want the Fjord Fisheries Committee to be present in current issues," West said, and stated she will work to ensure that the Committee prioritizes relevant input to the annual regulations and focuses on initiatives that can promote coastal and Sami communities.

For his part, the Vice-Chair, Jo Inge Hesjevik, is a well-known conservative politician from Finnmark, who has also been mayor of the municipality of Porsanger - located on the fjord of the same name, the fourth longest in Norway - and Chair of the municipal sector organization (KS) Finnmark since 2023.