Norway cuts red tape for land-based fish farms
Norway’s government is to remove the requirement that the Directorate of Fisheries must issue use permits for land-based fish farming facilities. New plants can now start up immediately after the plant is finished and ready for production.
“We are now removing the requirement that permits be issued as part of the requirements to meet the technical standard for land-based farms. This is an important and good simplification because the issuing of use permits is a demanding resource for both industry and management,” said fisheries and seafood minister Harald T Nesvik in a press release.
Currently the requirement is that all plants must have such a use permit before they can be put into operation, and that existing plants must obtain a use permit by January 1, 2021.
‘An unnecessary bureaucracy’
“The requirements for use permits as part of the requirements to meet the technical standard have given the industry uncertainty as to when new plants or parts of plants can be put into operation, and an unnecessary bureaucracy for the administration that processes these applications. The simplification also means easier follow-up of the regulations for the authorities,” said Nesvik.
The difference is that new plants can start up immediately after the plant is complete and ready for production, without having to wait for the Directorate of Fisheries to issue a use permit.
