Salmon war: “Sanctions are unrealistic and would only create losers,” says Dutch processor

“There are many companies here including my own who would suffer tremendously if the sanctions were put in place, and we have all already been through a hard time with the pandemic”.

On Friday it was reported that the Dutch Government – in a response to what they claim is the overfishing of mackerel by Norway, Iceland and the Faroes – is considering sanctions, including stopping imports of salmon from the three countries.

Dutch fisheries Minister Carola Schouten confirmed her intention to examine possible sanctions and coordinate with other European fishing nations.

One processor with a foot in both camps is Dutch smokehouse Sognefjord Zalm – founder Peter-Anton Peters is a Norwegian citizen with Dutch roots. Although his two sons, Mads Vincent and Martin now do most of the handwork.

Peter-Anton Peters, owner of Sognefjord Zalm. PHOTO: Lieneke Schuitemaker

Speaking to SalmonBusiness about the possible sanctions, Mads said, “It seems to me that we are dealing with very reasonable nations, if they have a disagreement about the fishing quotas they should perhaps consider seeking third party arbitration to find out whether the northern countries overfish or not.”

“I feel like the proposed sanctions are unrealistic and would only create losers. The Netherlands is the fourth largest importer of salmon, and there are many companies here including my own who would suffer tremendously if the sanctions were put in place, and we have all already been through a hard time with the pandemic,” Peters added.

“I’m sure that they will find a good solution for this issue, and perhaps make some good agreements that both sides are happy with for the future.”

As Peters said, the Netherlands is Norway’s fourth largest salmon customer, with a total import of 62,588 tonnes of salmon in the first three quarters of the year, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council. The country has a significant processing industry, and is also an important transit country for overseas salmon freight via Schipol Airport near Amsterdam.

 

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