Ministry of Fisheries loses big court case

The court has ordered the Ministry of Fisheries to pay damages to Northwest Pelagic for lost income due to a withdrawal of its fishing licence.

Northwest Pelagic took the ministry to court after losing its fishing licence in January 2016.

The Ministry of Fisheries has also been ruled to pay the DKK 750,000 legal costs, after being ruled to have withdrawn the fishing licence based on incorrect legal argumentation.

Ministry considering appeal

Fisheries inspection authority Vørn argued that the company’s minority owner, Duch firm Jaczon Trawler which holds a 30-percent share in the company, controlled Northwest Pelagic, a view upheld by the Ministry of Fisheries.

Vørn argued that this was in breach of the law on commercial fishing, which has a provision stating that other nations must not have the power of decision in the Faroese fishing industry.

The ministry now has four weeks to decide whether it wishes to appeal the ruling.

The compensation figure has not been specified, but Northwest Pelagic’s lawyer, Niels Winther Poulsen, says the company is more interested in being granted quotas after having its fishing licence reinstated than receiving financial compensation.

Translated by prosa.fo