The sea in crisis: – Norway one of the worst in the class
The ocean is in an acute climate crisis – and nature crisis. It takes in 25 percent of the carbon dioxide and gases that humanity emits, and 90 percent of global warming goes into the ocean.
– We must protect marine areas and say that fishermen must fish less. Everyone knows what is at stake. If we don’t do it, and change our behaviour, then we are heading for the apocalypse and our children will no longer have a future, says the Portuguese marine scientist Emanuel Goncalves.
Urgent
That is why Goncalves and other marine scientists trust that Norway, Portugal and other countries will do what they have loved, namely to protect 30 percent of the ocean areas by 2030. But is Norway on track?
– The word protection is extremely misunderstood and has a lot of political will. Norway is one of the worst in the class when it comes to protection along the coast and at sea. Norway must protect at least 30 percent by 2030, if we are to succeed in protecting life in the sea. Conservation does not mean putting a glass watch over an area and stopping all activity, but allowing the conservation values in nature to be given priority, says Fredrik Myhre, marine team leader in the WWF World Wide Fund for Nature.
Myhre is impatient on behalf of Norway. He is happy that the government announced this summer that they will drafted a new marine environment act in order to be able to protect important parts of the sea, also outside 12 nautical miles.
– It is great that the government is now advocating for a law that makes it possible to protect nature across all sectors outside 12 nautical miles. But the question now is how long it will take to get this in place. It is urgent to get a good marine environment law, says Myhre and continues:
– Norway has systematically worked towards some marine protection in international processes. Now the Støre government has an opportunity to set a new course for Norway, both when it comes to its own sea areas, but also how the world is in international sea areas, he says.
– Brake pad
Protection of marine areas in Norway has been slow, regardless of the government. In 2004, 36 areas were identified as so-called candidate areas in a marine conservation plan. Almost 20 years later, only 18 of these are protected.
Norway made an international commitment to ten percent marine protection by 2020. Two years later, Norway is not even halfway there.
– Altogether, around 4.5 per cent of Norway’s territorial waters are now protected, and 4.2 per cent of all Norwegian sea areas, according to Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide.
Myhre is not impressed:
– The fact that 4.2 per cent of all Norwegian sea areas are protected under environmental protection legislation is unfortunately highly misleading. Today, only one percent of all Norwegian sea areas are protected under a comprehensive law to preserve nature. Marine protection has been an extremely slow process, and Norway has been a brake, says Myhre.
Horror examples
He believes that Norway has systematically claimed that protection is stricter than it actually is.
– We have many horror examples of areas that have been called marine protected areas, but which are not. A worst example is the Viking Bank outside Bergen, which was protected against fishing back in 2009, says Myhre.
The Institute of Marine Research strongly recommended that fishing should not be done in the spawning areas for the small, slender fish species tobis.
– The fishing industry accepted this and a “protection” was created according to the Marine Resources Act, but then Equinor got permission to test drill in the middle of the same area a few years later. A hair-raising example where the petroleum law overran the fisheries legislation. In other words, we must have a law across all sectors. It is perceived as unfair for the fishermen that they should stay out of areas, only to see the petroleum sector come and destroy, says Myhre.
Climate and Environment Minister Eide points out that Norway is working both nationally and internationally to improve the environmental condition of the sea, and points out that Norway, together with the island state of Palau, leads the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
– Norway has agreed to international goals that at least one percent of the world’s ocean areas must be preserved through protected areas or other effective area-based conservation measures. We support that these goals should be strengthened with the aim of at least 30 percent of the ocean areas in the world being preserved in this way by 2030, says Eide.
Apply
Myhre believes that Norway, as a port nation, is doing too little.
– Norway must take the lead as a leading nation in having its own sea areas. It also took a long time before Norway joined in and supported that one should be on 30 per cent of ocean areas globally. We have to pick up the pace, says Myhre.
According to the website Marine Protection Atlas, the road to 30 percent is long. Around eight percent of the sea is fully or partially protected. Only seven countries have protected at least a percentage of their marine areas: Palau, Great Britain, Mauritius, USA, Chile, Kiribati and Argentina.
Vern takes advantage, according to Myhre, and takes us to the Jær coast, where earlier this year he swam among the endangered porbeagle shark species.
– The porcupines depend on lush habitats such as the wonderful kelp forest at the Jærkysten marine conservation area. The shark species is also showing signs of recovery. If the Støre government shows political will for more and better protection, it is permissible to be optimistic on behalf of the sea. But it is urgent, says the sea team leader in the WWF World Wildlife Fund.
In order for the world’s oceans to continue to have bustling life and large fish in the future, the world must make progress with the promises of 30 per cent ocean protection. Then there is still hope, say the researchers. Earlier this year, Myhre took Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Climate Minister Espen Barth Eide out into the Oslo Fjord.
– I hope that the fact that they were able to see problems in the Oslo Fjord with their own eyes helps to strengthen the work for better and more protection. Norway must become far better at being in nature, both above and below water. Establishing protected areas is one of the best tools available for just this, says Myhre.