Seminar in Bremerhaven 27 June 2013
The President of Iceland, H.E. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, was the keynote speaker at a fisheries seminar held in Bremerhaven on June 27th, at Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum. The seminar was a part of the official programme during the President's State Visit to Germany. The title of the seminar was "The Role of Science and Technology in Responsible Fisheries Management".
The Director of Schiffahrtsmuseum, Mrs. Sundhild Kleingärtner gave a welcome address and also Mr. Martin Günthner Senator for Economy, Labour and Ports.
The president did mention in his speech that the scientifically-based quota system was one of the reasons why Iceland has come out of the 2008 financial crisis earlier and more effectively than expected. He also said that the fishing sector has served as the basis for technological innovations by a multitude of engineering and IT companies in Iceland, opening for them routes to global success.
Jóhann Sigurjónsson, General Manager of the Marine Research Institute gave a speech on "Science-based management of fish stocks and long-term sustainability". He pointed out that in fisheries management, it is important to make best use of each year-class and that strong year-class gives high catches in following years and reverse.
Karl-Heinz Renz, CEO of Frischkost gave a presentation on how EDEKA Südwest promotes Icelandic fresh fish, "Vermarktung von Isländischem Fisch Erfahrungsbericht der Edeka Südwest".
Also, Gudny Karadottir Director at Promote Iceland presented the Iceland Responsible Fisheries programme and showed short documentary films:
- Fischereimanagement in Isländischen Gewässern (play video)
- Kabeljaufischerei in Island: vom Fang auf den Tisch (play video)
Following the seminar there was a networking reception at the museum.