Seafood industry group warns against changing Norway’s "production fish" export rules

The Norwegian seafood industry group Sjømatbedriftene has criticised a proposal by fellow national seafood association Sjomat Norge (Seafood Norway) to ease rules on the export of so-called production fish from aquaculture facilities, warning that the change could damage the reputation of Norwegian salmon.

Sjømatbedriftene said it would oppose any move to amend Norway’s quality regulations, which currently require fish to be corrected of any defects in Norway before they can be exported for human consumption.

Robert H. Eriksson, chief executive of Sjømatbedriftene, said Seafood Norway’s board had “missed the mark” by supporting the removal of the export restriction.

“The decision is a complete miss that puts the brand and quality of seafood from Norway at risk,” he said, in a Norwegian language statement.

According to Sjømatbedriftene, the existing regulation is intended to protect product quality, consumer confidence and the standing of Norwegian farmed fish in export markets. The organisation claims a change would increase the risk of fish that does not meet Norwegian quality requirements being sold internationally.

“Sjømatbedriftene fears that a change to the rules for production fish will weaken Norwegian salmon as a brand in the international market. This is because the risk increases that salmon that does not meet our quality requirements can more easily be traded internationally. A change to the rules will increase the risk that Norwegian authorities lose control over defect correction, and that fish of unacceptable quality ends up with consumers,” Eriksson said.

“Seafood Norway is making this a question of ‘free trade’, but the current provision is primarily about quality, consumer trust, fish welfare, and equal treatment. The provision does not prohibit exports of defect-corrected fish. It requires that fish with visible or internal quality defects must not be traded for human consumption before the defects have been corrected. That is a significant difference,” he argued.

He said Norway was regulating the standard of fish entering the food market, rather than deciding who could buy it. “In that sense, the provision is not a breach of free trade rules, but a guarantee that the salmon exported is of the quality it should be,” he said.

Sjømatbedriftene also argued that the principle behind the Norwegian rule is consistent with wider European food standards. The organisation said EU rules include common marketing standards for fishery products, freshness categories and requirements that fish in the highest category must be free from pressure marks, damage, spots and discolouration, as well as contamination with parasites.

Sjømatbedriftene argued the current Norwegian system has a defensible basis under EEA law, even though the European Commission has previously raised political concerns about it. The bloc officially listed Norway's ban on the export of unprocessed "production fish" as a trade barrier in 2024, and EU fish processors have repeatedly called for changes to the Norwegian stance, creating a new trade union in opposition to Norway's export rule.

“Sjømatbedriftene is therefore crystal clear in our conclusion: the current quality regulation, which requires production fish to be defect-corrected in Norway, must be maintained. Most recently through NRK Brennpunkt’s series Lakselandet, we have seen the consequences of uncorrected production fish being exported out of the country and the consequences this can have for the ‘Norwegian salmon’ brand. A change to the regulations, as Seafood Norway’s board is now advocating, would put the reputation of all Norwegian seafood at great risk,” said Eriksson.

The organisation said it would work against the proposed change in the coming period.