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A shared future - balanced development

9. Food production
- food safety, agriculture and fisheries

Denmark's objective for food production is to ensure that the food produced and sold to consumers is healthy and of high quality and that the level of information on food is high. Production methods that preserve the resource basis of the agricultural and fisheries sectors and secure the environment, nature, animal welfare and good working conditions must be promoted. Simultaneously, cost-effective production and marketing should be promoted in the food-producing sectors.

Sustainable development of food production requires the right legislative framework, visionary utilisation and development of technological possibilities, and constructive interplay between the authorities, industry, and the public.

The development of Denmark's food production is characterised by fewer, bigger and more efficient producers.This development has greatly improved efficiency, bringing prices down to levels that have cut the proportion of total private consumption spent on food from about 35 per cent to about 10 per cent over the last fifty years. Within the field of food, Denmark does significant volumes of trade with other countries. Imports are on the rise while Denmark is - per capita - the largest net exporter of food in the world. Food production is very important to the Danish economy in relation to jobs and export earnings.

The production methods in the food industry are of great significance for food safety and impacts on the environment and nature. Healthy and safe food is important for improving people's health and preventing illness. Healthy food and sustainable management of our natural and environmental resources requires that legislation provides a framework for production methods, that technological possibilities are used and developed, and that constructive cooperation is established between the authorities, the industry, and consumers. This is the only viable method for avoiding food that contains, for example, salmonella, dioxin or pesticide residues.The legislative framework also covers requirements limiting the impact of food production on the environment and nature. For example, runoffs of pesticides and nutrients from agriculture to the aquatic environment and unintentional by-catches and discards from the fisheries sector.

Finally, international conditions are crucial for food production.Within the EU, the provisions in the Cardiff Process on integrating environmental considerations in all sector policies, and the provisions in the Amsterdam Treaty on sustainable development are highly significant for the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy. Denmark participates actively in this work. In general, there should be more integration of environmental and nature considerations in agriculture and horticulture in order to promote the environmental and nature effects of agricultural schemes. At the same time, the level of subsidies to agriculture should be reduced.

There are several examples of the fact that problems with the environment and food safety are trans-national. BSE and dioxin are examples of this. International commitment is needed if solutions are to be found. The EU controls many aspects of production by harmonising regulation, and goals within environmental and nature policy are set up within the EU and globally. The EU must be better at solving cross-border problems.
In the EU, the accession of new Central and Eastern European countries will influence food, agricultural and fisheries policies in the future. The  forthcoming WTO negotiations will lead to needs for further reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy in order to ensure uninhibited global trade on food.

Objectives and activities in the future

Sustainable food production requires balanced interaction between producers, processors, retailers, consumers, and the authorities.The Danish Government will ensure sustainable development by regularly updating environmental initiatives so that future generations can also live in a clean environment. As a starting point, impacts should never exceed the level critical to nature and the environment.

Healthy, high quality food must be ensured, for example through a long-term strategy for the improvement of animal welfare, clear guidelines on control of food, and clearer and comprehensible labelling of products.

These goals will be achieved through prioritised initiatives and using in the most costeffective methods.

9.1. Food safety

Consumers have the right to safe food. In situations where science finds cause for suspicion, but where a scientific basis for validating or invalidating that suspicion is insufficient, the Government considers it important to base assessments on safety and risks related to foods on the precautionary principle.

Food safety is an important parameter in competition between producers in the market, both nationally and internationally. Confidence in the regulations and control benefits the industry and is a prerequisite for further development. Internationally, there is great focus on food safety. In January 2000, the Commission presented a white paper on future policy to promote food safety in the EU. The Danish Government agrees with the Commission that an important goal is to reestablish and maintain consumer confidence in legislation and control of food.

Clear and unambiguous rules, understandable by producers, control authorities, and consumers are required for a high degree of food safety.Working towards a high degree of food safety has a high priority, and work to simplify and modernise the regulations will continue over the next few years.

Simple rules provide clarity about requirements and responsibilities for producers and the authorities. Clear responsibilities provide a basis for introduction by producers of their own control and check procedures, and organisation by the authorities of effective and targeted inspection and control initiatives.

Self inspection and control must ensure that an enterprise's procedures regarding control of production, etc. work properly. Similarly, public control and inspection, and guidance for enterprises include prevention as an important element in self inspection and control. There is an increasing need for documentation and traceability of the individual raw materials, partly to assist in clarification work when defective goods are distributed, and partly because a number of parameters cannot be measured through analyses, but must be checked by, for example inspecting paperwork. As a result of this, there are increasing requirements for these measures to be included in enterprises' own control procedures.

Full openness on the regulations and control are also required to maintain consumer confidence that both food producers and the authorities are meeting their responsibilities.

The Government attaches great emphasis to the debate on food policy. This is the only way of making politically lasting decisions that benefit the population and the food-producing sectors.

Objectives and activities in the future

A crucial objective is to achieve an unconditionally high level of food safety by continuing the fight against diseases caused by food. Denmark needs very efficient controls of chemical pollution and undesirable residues, and food manufacturers must assume unequivocal responsibility for the safety of their food products.

In the EU, Denmark will advocate that the control of pesticide residues in food be based on the precautionary principle, so that any doubts about unacceptable environmental and health risks will yield to the consumers' advantage.

The Government's aim is to reduce the use of additives as much as possible. In the EU, the Danish Government is recommending that additives be allowed only if they pose no health hazard, if their use does not mislead consumers, and if additives constitute a technological need.

Furthermore, Denmark is still working to amend EU regulations on the additives nitrites, nitrates and sulphites. This effort focuses on Denmark's case at the European Court of Justice against the EU Commission and on the negotiations on an amendment to the directive on food additives other than colours and sweeteners.

Denmark must launch a conscious consumer policy for the food industry through the implementation of clear regulations, targeted control, and openness and transparency in relation to regulations and control. Results from control activities must be made available to consumers in a comprehensive and accessible form.

In addition, the conscious consumer policy for the food industry should comprise improved labelling regulations, protection against deception and better general information.

Consumers need comprehensive information so that they can make qualified and fair choices between different products, as well as reject food that has been subject to a specific treatment or process, or select food on the basis of organic, ethical, nutritional, quality, or animal-welfare principles.

Rules regarding labelling of food are laid down within the framework of the EU cooperation, and the Danish Government will work for:

	requirements for full labelling of ingredients,
	revision of the rules on quantitative labelling as the Government believes that consumers want more detailed quantitative labelling than required by the EU rules,
	enhancement of labelling rules regarding the origin of food in the same way as currently required for beef and fish,
	compulsory labelling on goods of the production and packaging date,
	compulsory labelling of nutrition information so that consumers can see fat, protein and carbohydrate contents,
	a list of allergenic compounds to be included on labels if they are contained in a product,
	better labelling of aromatics in food so that consumers are not misled regarding the nature of an additive and the reason for an additive.

Information in labelling is particularly important with regard to food which has been subject to a specific treatment or process.This may include genetically modified food (GM) and other new foods, as well as products for special and often exposed groups of people. Problems related to health labelling, misinformation, and the dangers of exploitation of anxieties are particularly relevant.

An efficient effort in the nutrition field is the goal to improve the population's health and prevent illnesses. Some illnesses arise because of better living conditions. The health costs of obesity, smoking and lack of exercise are clear. For example, the incidences of cardiovascular disease, allergies, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis are increasing. Common for all these illnesses is that a large proportion of the Danish population can be affected. This is why the Government is launching special strategy plans for these illnesses.

Food safety for animal products begins with safe animal feed.The animal feed area is to be controlled more efficiently, and openness concerning the content of animal feed mixtures must be a requirement. The Danish Government supports the current EU initiatives for animal feeds and want to see tighter rules for additives in feed.The Government will advocate a faster adoption of stricter EU regulations on animal feed control and requirements for labelling of animal feed containing genetically modified organisms.

The position of the food sector must be consolidated by further innovation, research, dissemination of knowledge, product development and corporate flexibility. As a consequence, Denmark must provide optimal opportunities for exploiting research results in the area. As part of the Government's overall growth strategy, "Determined Growth", it will initiate an analysis of innovative possibilities to promote growth in all parts of the food sector.

In the spring of 2001, the Danish Innovation Act for the food sector came into force.The Act prioritises a range of specific areas that have gained greater importance in society in recent years. Safeguarding the environment and the resource base will join food safety, traceability, organic farming and animal welfare as significant key fields of action. One objective of the act is to subsidise and thus promote enterprising projects in the prioritised areas.Thus, the Act will constitute a major tool in efforts targeted at ensuring environmentally sustainable and competitive food production.

In an international context, Denmark will safeguard its interests by upholding the requirements for a high level of food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare in the EU, the WTO and other influential forums. At the same time, Denmark will maintain the demand for liberalisation of trade in food products; i.e. the removal of trade barriers coupled with the phasing out and removal of subsidies distorting competition.

9.2. Agriculture

About 66 per cent of the area of Denmark is used for agriculture, and agricultural production thus influences nature and the environment to a high degree. Agricultural areas are important to the population because they carry culturalhistorical values and the opportunities for enjoyment of landscape and nature.

Since the 1992 Rio Conference, the Government has implemented a range of measures to ensure that agricultural production takes nature and the environment into consideration. Some of the benchmarks in these activities were detailed in the 1994 ten-point program for clean water, Action Plans I and II to promote organic food production from 1995 and 1999, the Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment II from 1998 and the Pesticides Reduction Action Plans I and II from 1986 and 2000.The objective of the 1986 Pesticides Reduction Plan I was to halve the total use of pesticides and to encourage the use of less hazardous compounds.

Since 1994, over 200 pesticides associated with unacceptable risks to human health, the environment or groundwater have been banned. It has been sufficient to limit the use of certain pesticides. Also in the future, pesticides threatening groundwater will be completely prohibited. In 1999, the Danish Bichel Committee presented economic analyses showing that the use of pesticides can be lowered by 30-40 per cent within a period of 5 to 10 years without significant costs to the agricultural sector. The cost of reducing pesticide use by 80 per cent and a complete ban were also analysed.

The 1998 Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment II aims to ensure the original objectives of the first Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment from 1987, i.e. to reduce nitrogen runoffs from agriculture and horticulture by 100,000 tonnes of nitrogen annually by 2003. After the midterm evaluation, adjustments were made to the plan to ensure that the objectives could be met. In meeting the objectives, Denmark will also fulfil the EU Nitrate Directive, due to be implemented no later than 2003.The tools include a detailed regulation of agricultural fertiliser handling coupled with increased afforestation, the use of environmentally friendly production methods and the reestablishment of wetlands, which serve a dual purpose: to improve nature and limit nitrogen runoffs. Denmark is one of the few EU countries to have achieved Commission approval of its national action programmes implementing the Nitrate Directive.

With full implementation of the Second Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment, Denmark expects to fulfil its international obligations regarding reductions of ammonia evaporation, cf. the EU Acidification Strategy and the Geneva Convention on cross-border air pollution. In the near future, the Government will commence a number of initiatives to reduce further ammonia evaporation from agriculture.

To some extent, the agricultural efficiency improvements have, until the end of the 1980s, come about through increasing the use of pesticides and nutrients. Since the early 1990s, however, effectivisation has taken place at the same time as a drop in the consumption of pesticides and fertilizers. Runoffs of nitrogen fell by 32 per cent from 1990- 1999 and phosphor surpluses on fields have fallen by over 30 per cent since 1985. The scale and intensity of farming leave limited room for diversity in animal and plant life, also affecting flora and fauna in streams, lakes and small biotopes. Despite great efforts from enterprises and authorities, biodiversity has suffered a setback.Thus, the scope of environmental, natural and health effects needs further study and research and there is a need for technological innovations that support an agricultural production which is more friendly towards nature and the environment.

Structural developments and concentration of production demonstrate how specialisation and economies of scale have enhanced efficiency. In 1970 Denmark had about 140,000 farms, while in 2000 the figure was 52,700. About 90 per cent of agricultural production comes from approximately 23,400 full-time farms.

Sustainable agricultural production poses a range of dilemmas. At the same time as taking account of profitable production, the environment, biodiversity, health and safety, animal welfare, landscape values and rural development must also be considered. These concerns may well be conflicting. In cooperation with the industry, development must be ensured that, as far as possible, unites these considerations in a cost-effective manner for the individual farmer and for society as a whole.

Objectives and activities in the future

In the view of the Danish Government, it is imperative for continued economic growth to occur without a corresponding growth in environmental impact and in harmony with nature and the environment. Initiatives for sustainable agricultural production will be developed, based on objectives for food safety, animal welfare, the environment, nature, and life in rural districts. In this connection, all relevant factors to the long-term development of a sustainable food and agricultural policy will be involved in accordance with future consumers' needs and social priorities in relation to the economy, welfare, the environment, and nature. Environmental and nature goals will be achieved in the most cost-effective way. The polluter pays principle is one means of promoting cleaner production and products on reasonable, competitive terms.

The Government will continue its efforts to achieve sustainable production through the following specific objectives and activities:

The basis for economically, socially and environmentally sustainable rural districts must be ensured. The basis for economically, socially and environmentally sustainable rural districts must be ensured. The Government wants to support development that can maintain and develop agriculture and promote varied and differentiated life in rural districts. Agriculture can no longer be the only basis for varied social, and economic life in rural districts. The Government will therefore make the rules for use and extension of redundant agricultural buildings more flexible.The Government also wants to allow the owners of agricultural property better opportunities to erect housing as part of a generation change or for the use of employees. Furthermore, the Government wants to allow better opportunities to erect slurry containers on fields. Such development must be in harmony with the surrounding local community.The Government will therefore introduce new rules on information for neighbours before issuing permits to build in rural zones.

Agriculture has an increasingly multifunctional role in rural areas.The Government will strive to adapt the EU subsidy schemes, including schemes under the Rural Development Programme, to a more holistic approach, that supports sustainable development.These initiatives are to relieve generation changes and promote nature and environment considerations, food safety, health and safety at work, the cultural environment, animal welfare, regional development, and rural employment. Subsidy schemes not supporting these objectives must be phased out.

Regulation of agricultural environmental impacts from nutrients is a central element in the Government's efforts to secure a clean environment for future generations. Agricultural loss of nitrate, phosphorus and ammonia must therefore be brought down to a level that represents no nuisance to people, that safeguards the aquatic environment and vulnerable types of nature, and that promotes a rich animal and plant life.The Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment II, which has been evaluated at midterm in December 2000, is expected to ensure that agricultural nitrogen runoffs are reduced by 100,000 tonnes annually before the end of 2003. Focus areas are divided into area-related activities, improved feed utilisation and fertiliser-related activity areas.

The Government will invite parliamentary parties to negotiate an Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment III (VMP III).The Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment III will outline the framework for agricultural production in harmony with nature and the environment.The plan will contain an overall approach to reducing agricultural discharges of nutrients, and it will simplify and make more effective regulation of agricultural impacts on the environment. In preparation for the Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment III, and as the basis for continued efforts to limit agricultural environmental impacts, Denmark will launch activities which will not only focus on nitrogen, but also on the possibilities of limiting agricultural phosphorus emissions and discharges. This will involve an assessment of the economic and environmental effectiveness of current measures.

The aquatic environment will also be the pivotal point when the EU Water Framework Directive is due to be implemented in Danish legislation no later than December 2003. Regional protection of the aquatic environment will be enhanced as part of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive by establishing environmental goals for surface water and the groundwater. A basis will also be developed to enable preparation of regional programmes which can establish more targeted requirements for agriculture in the uplands near wetlands where environmental goals are not being met.These programmes will assess general anthropogenic impacts and establish the relative effect of agriculture.The Water Framework Directive is further discussed in chapter 6, Environment and Health.

Loss of ammonia was reduced by 33 per cent in the course of the 1990s. However, concerns for nature, the environment, and odour nuisance mean that there remains a need to reduce agricultural emissions of ammonia and greenhouse gases into the air. This will happen on the basis of, amongst other things, the climate strategy, Climate 2012, and implementation of a number of initiatives to further reduce ammonia evaporation from agriculture.

Agricultural pressure on the environment and nature varies from area to area as a consequence of the different types of agricultural production and the varying natural basis. In the coming years, livestock farming must be evaluated locally and regionally in the context of the sensitivity of nature and the environment.

Many consumers demand organic food and the Danish organic sector is one of the largest in Europe. As part of sustainable food production, the Government wants to see further development of the organic sector on the basis of consumer demand and common EU rules. An important part of this development will be the possibility to strengthen sales of Danish organic products in export markets. It is important that export initiatives are secured with stakeholders well versed in production and sale of organic produce.The Organic Food Council has therefore been encouraged to prepare an export strategy.The Council has accepted the challenge and will deliver the strategy at the end of June 2002.

The use of pesticides can be reduced and still allow a profitable operation.The Government is hopeful that pesticide use can be minimised within the next few years.The Pesticides Reduction Plan II calls for application frequency on fields of less than two before the end of 2002. In 2000, application frequency was two as a result of constructive interplay between the industry and the authorities. After 2002, a new objective will be established to reduce application frequency even further. Denmark's long-term goal is to develop cultivation strategies that reduce the agricultural sector's dependency on pesticides enabling their use to be phased out to the widest extent possible. Internationally, the Government wishes to focus on overuse of pesticides, and pesticides will undergo restrictive assessments, both nationally and internationally out of considerations for the environment, nature and public health.

Agriculture and the individual farmer have an important role to play in nature management. Nature must be protected and biodiversity ensured. Vulnerable types of nature and nature in agricultural land must be protected through the preservation, re-establishment and strengthening of meadows and dry grassland as well as small biotopes such as water holes and hedgerows. Dispersion corridors in the open country must also be safeguarded, since they improve the conditions for wild animals and plants. More extensive cooperation between farmers, consultants, and the authorities, as well as voluntary agreements on environmentally friendly agricultural production, including green accounting, are important instruments in this connection. In order to expand the nature aspect in operations, dissemination of nature plans in agriculture will be promoted, and the nature and environment content in the education and training of farmers will be considered. Please see chapter 5, Biodiversity.

Cleaner technology must be developed and used. This provides development opportunities for the industry and also limits impacts on nature and the environment. For primary agriculture, a special analysis will be carried out of the opportunities for promoting growth and development.

Development, maintenance, and expansion of internationally competitive food research requires continual concentration on innovation and research with strategic relevance for Denmark's future leading position within the food sector. FØTEK - The Danish Research and Development Programme for Food Technology will promote research projects with commercial perspectives that are carried out in cooperation with agricultural operations, enterprises, sector organisations, and research institutions.The objective is to contribute to developing the position of the Danish food industry in export markets and the possibilities for the industry to increase growth through adaptation to market demands, including consideration of environmental sustainability in production.

Biotechnology involves both opportunity and risk. The approval of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) should be assessed on the basis of concrete environmental, health and agricultural assessments governed by the precautionary principle in all respects. Furthermore, the assessment can involve ethical aspects.When gene technology is used, the consumer must be informed through product labelling. Commercial cultivation of GMO crops in Denmark can become a reality when approval procedures for marketing GMO plants are resumed. Utilisation of GMO crops must be carried out in co-existence with existing types of production and cultivation.Therefore, the Government will prepare a national strategy for cultivation of conventional, organic, and GMO crops. Amongst other things, the strategy will outline measures to ensure coexistence and regulation possibilities.

The genetic resources of agriculture must be preserved both nationally and globally. Modern agriculture has rendered a relatively small number of breeds and species dominant in each of the individual livestock groups and plant types.The Government will expand the existing livestock gene bank and draw up a national strategy plan for agricultural plant-genetic resources. In 2002, the Danish Government will sign the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.The Treaty lays down a global framework for sustainable preservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Denmark will work to change EU agricultural policy towards a more market-oriented direction in the midterm evaluation in 2002/2003 and with the expiry of Agenda 2000 in 2006. Agricultural subsidies must be gradually phased out. On the other hand, domestic costs must be reduced. Moreover, there must be efforts to ensure that budgets for EU agricultural policy increasingly reflect Danish priorities on the transfer of budget funds from direct support to initiatives in rural districts, including for environmental and nature purposes, and food safety.This will create the foundations for sustainable development of rural districts and improvements in food safety, animal welfare, nature, and the environment.

The above focus areas, concerning the requirements for sustainable agricultural production, are part of the Government's objectives, both nationally and at EU level.

9.3. Fisheries

The fisheries sector depends on fish stocks remaining a renewable natural resource. Sustainable fishing that safeguards marine fish populations and ecosystems will also contribute to the sector s future development. The highest possible level of knowledge about fisheries and other pressures on marine resources is crucial to ensure sustainable management of fisheries and to be able to gain sufficient and healthy food from the ocean.

Fish stocks, fishermen's access to them, and other environmental impacts on the marine ecosystem are essentially cross-border. Most of the Danish fisheries sector and its access to fish populations depends not only on Danish efforts for sustainable exploitation of living marine resources, but also on those of other countries. Consequently, an effective policy should be based on targeted international cooperation.

Based on, amongst other things, the 1992 Rio Conference, a significant element of the Danish Government's policy has been to maintain and develop the environmental profile of the EU's own fisheries policy as well as of relations to other countries and international organisations. An improved basis for the annual EU decisions on the total allowable catches (TAC) remains a key aspect of these activities.The advice of marine biologists plays a crucial role, and the precautionary principle governs the guidance which has been extended to comprise all the stocks essential to fisheries.

A range of international agreements, including the conclusion of the North Sea ministers' interministerial meeting on fisheries and the environment (the Bergen Declaration 1997), conclude, that activities must be targeted, nationally and in the EU Common Fisheries Policy, to increase the integration between fisheries and the environment by applying an ecosystem approach including, for instance, the development of a multi species approach as the first step. Additionally, the regulation of fisheries must to a greater extent be governed by the precautionary principle as defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea in 1998.The EU Council of Ministers first applied the principle in 1999 in establishing the quotas for a number of stocks.The European Commission confirmed the prioritisation of the measures in the Green Paper on the Future Common Fisheries Policy, and this was further endorsed when the Council of Ministers integrated (April 2001) environmental considerations and sustainable development into the Common Fisheries Policy. Both aspects are part of the revision of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2002.

As part of the national implementation of fisheries policy, several initiatives aimed at fisheries activities have been launched or expanded.To lower the pressure from fishing, measures have been implemented to limit where and when fishing can be performed and with which types of tackle and engine power. A ban on the discard of commercial catches that can be landed legally has been introduced. Finally, the total capacity of the Danish fisheries fleet has been reduced significantly, which has made fisheries more profitable for the remaining fishermen in the sector.The Government finds it important that capacity is continuously adapted.

Some of the main challenges we face are the very heavy fisheries pressure to which many economically important fish stocks are constantly subjected and the overfishing of several of the stocks central to Denmark's fisheries sector.This is why fisheries activities should be limited as soon as possible and adjusted to the volume that the fish stocks can sustain. Fish discards must be limited further, and in some types of fisheries, unintentional by-catches including of harbour porpoise - are too high.

Understanding of the marine ecological balance is still incomplete, also in terms of the many manmade factors compared to the natural factors impacting the development of fish resources. Such factors comprise pollution, climate change, activities related to oil exploration, etc. In some instances, pollution has impacted the food safety of fish.

Finally, the aquaculture sector offers potential for development that should be exploited on the condition that the necessary environmental considerations are taken into account.

Objectives and activities in the future

In the coming years, the Government will continue its work to promote the integration of environmental and sustainability considerations in the fisheries sector, nationally, in the EU, and internationally. In this connection, importance is attached to following up regional agreements and action plans in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea aimed at making fisheries more sustainable. The establishment of an efficient partnership charged with restoring the North Sea cod stocks is one specific goal.

In 2001, the Danish Parliament adopted (V 117) a range of central objectives for the development of a national fisheries policy in the years to come. One objective calls for the modernisation, renewal and simultaneous reduction of the fisheries fleet. The objective is to ensure a long-term, stable and sustainable fisheries sector in relation to the fisheries possibilities and a continued local fisheries sector with a wide geographic basis.Within this framework, adjustments to the national management of fisheries quotas will be realised, one aim is to develop coastal fisheries and promote the quality of landings. In relation to the activities aimed at fisheries, the Government will give high priority to developing selective and gentle fisheries tackle, so that unintended by-catches and undesired pressure on the sea bed, its natural animal and plant life, and the overall ecosystem can more easily be avoided.

Research and data collection are to enhance the understanding of marine ecosystems and their interrelationship with human impacts. Enhanced knowledge about these matters should help improve the decision-making basis for advisory services and ensure sustainability in fisheries management. Activities are also targeted at establishing a superior knowledge base that will enable us to better target our relevant nature protection considerations in relation to fish management in marine areas.

Under the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries a committee on environmental impact and fisheries resources has been set up. Before October 2002, the Committee is to report on manmade and natural factors other than fishing that impact the conditions and development of fish stocks, or that impact fish as a food reserve.

To ensure sustainable development in the aquaculture sector, two committees on inland fish farms and marine farms, respectively, have been set up.The committees are expected to make proposals for promoting continued exploitation of the production potential in the aquaculture sector, having in mind the minimisation of the environmental impact.

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