Fishermen on the Danish island of Læsø want permission to catch bluefin tuna, and the environment minister says she is open to securing a Danish tuna quota.
According to DR, fishermen on Læsø in the Kattegat hope to be able to haul in bluefin tuna weighing several hundred kilos. The species is back in Danish waters, including the sea around the island.
Jess Jessen-Klixbüll, a board member of Læsø Havcenter, told DR that local fishermen could easily fish for tuna as a supplement to their existing fishing. He added that they could also take recreational anglers on board. Læsø Havcenter is working to establish an experience and activity center on the island.
Catching tuna is not currently permitted in Denmark. As reported by DR, that is because the country does not hold a share of the international catch quota, which stands at 48,000 tons.
Minister open to a Danish quota
Environment Minister Marie Reumert Gjerding of SF stated to Politiken that she sees no obstacle to an agreement if Denmark can swap its way to a tuna quota for recreational anglers next year. In the longer term, she said she wants to work for Denmark to receive part of the overall bluefin tuna quota.
Jessen-Klixbüll described the minister’s statement as a good signal, per DR. He pointed to the large tuna fishery in the Mediterranean and to Norway, which has its own quota. In his view, Denmark should be able to regain a quota if the stock is healthy and the case is argued properly.
Kim Edberg Andersen, fisheries spokesman for Danmarksdemokraterne, said a quota would especially benefit Læsø’s fishermen. According to DR, they have seen their catches of Norway lobster restricted in recent years. Andersen called it reasonable to give them an opportunity to catch something other than Norway lobster.
Bluefin tuna disappeared from Danish waters during the 1960s, DR notes. The fish reappeared in the region roughly ten years ago. It has been drawn back because stocks of herring and mackerel, among its primary food sources, have grown.
Denmark’s participation in the international bluefin tuna quota would require an arrangement at the international level, as the minister described to Politiken. She linked the near-term option to a possible quota swap covering recreational fishing, with a broader commercial share as a later goal.
Both DR and Politiken frame the matter as a question of quota allocation rather than a purely local initiative. No agreement has been concluded, and the minister has not set a date for a decision.
