Fishing Quotas

The plan states that overexploitation of nature's resources depletes biological diversity and that long-term environmental considerations are overriding. It also wants nature's resource values to remain where they are produced and invests in sustainable food production. The counter-proposal's requirement for significantly reduced quotas directed at large-scale industrial fishing, in favour of near-shore fishing for human consumption, thus follows the plan's environmental and rural line.

• environmental considerations overridingdecisive»Ett ständigt överutnyttjande av naturens resurser leder till kraftig utarmning av den biologiska mångfalden och växthusgasutsläpp.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“long-term environmental considerations must be overriding”
• stop overexploitation of natural resources»de långsiktiga miljöhänsynen måste vara överordnade« (party programme ↗)“Continuous overexploitation of nature's resources leads to severe depletion of biological diversity and greenhouse gas emissions.”
• stop species depletion»Mer av naturresursernas värden måste stanna kvar där de utvinns och produceras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“to this depletion of biological diversity”
• decisions based on science»En annan viktig del i den gröna omställningen är satsningar på hållbar livsmedelsproduktion.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Research is an important element in society's development”

The plan states that natural resources and ecosystems are already being exploited beyond the limit of what is sustainable in the long term and requires a change in fisheries policy and protection of biodiversity. Significantly reduced quotas with cuts targeted at large-scale industrial fishing follows from this. The plan's requirement that the whole country shall be able to live suggests a quota system that favours coastal fishing and local processing.

• overexploited ecosystemsdecisive»naturtillgångar och ekosystem utnyttjas i dag över gränsen för det långsiktigt hållbara« (party programme ↗)“natural resources and ecosystems are today being exploited beyond the limit of what is sustainable in the long term”
• reformed fisheries policy»en omläggning av jordbruks- och fiskeripolitiken« (party programme ↗)“a change in agricultural and fisheries policy”
• protect biodiversity»biologiska mångfalden måste skyddas« (party programme ↗)“biodiversity must be protected”
• the whole country shall prosper»Alla har ett gemensamt intresse av att hela landet kan leva och utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has a common interest in the whole country being able to live and develop.”

The election manifesto demands that ecosystems at sea set the limits for how much fish may be caught. The party programme identifies industrial fishing as a cause of the catastrophic disruptions to marine ecosystems, wants fishing rights distributed according to sustainability criteria and highlights the coastal fishing industry's role. Sharply reduced quotas aimed at industrial fishing and a quota system that favours local fishing directly follow from this.

• ecosystems set fishing limitsdecisive»låt ekosystemen i haven sätta gränserna för hur mycket fisk som får fångas, inför en ekosystembaserad havsförvaltning och gå över till skonsamma fiskemetoder.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“let ecosystems at sea set the limits for how much fish may be caught, introduce ecosystem-based marine management and move to gentle fishing methods.”
• industrial fishing damages ecosystems»Genom bland annat industrifiske, övergödning, miljögifter och exploatering av kustzoner har störningarna på dessa ekologiska system ökat på ett ibland katastrofalt sätt.« (party programme ↗)“Through among other things industrial fishing, over-enrichment, environmental toxins and exploitation of coastal zones, disruptions to these ecological systems have increased in sometimes catastrophic ways.”
• sustainability criteria for quota allocation»Fiskerätter ska fördelas utifrån hållbarhetskriterier.« (party programme ↗)“Fishing rights must be distributed according to sustainability criteria.”
• protect coastal fishing»Det kustnära fisket och fritidsfisket har en viktig roll både för människors rekreation och för att våra skärgårdar ska hållas levande.« (party programme ↗)“Coastal fishing and recreational fishing have an important role both for people's recreation and for our skerries to remain vibrant.”

The election manifesto states that harmful large-scale fishing should not be allowed to damage either the marine environment, the small-scale fishing industry or sports fishing, and that Sweden's lakes, waterways and seas should be saved. The counter-proposal's requirements for significantly reduced quotas primarily for industrial fishing and a distribution system that favours good environmental status and local economy is an application of that commitment. The plan also wants more of the value from natural resources to stay local.

• protect small-scale fishingdecisive»Skadlig bottentrålning ska inte få förstöra för varken havsmiljön, den småskaliga fiskenäringen eller sportfisket.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Harmful bottom trawling should not be allowed to damage the marine environment, small-scale fishing or sports fishing.”
• save the stocks»Rädda Sveriges sjöar, vattendrag och hav.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Save Sweden's lakes, waterways and seas.”
• local benefit from natural resources»Mer av värdet som skapas från naturresurser — exempelvis vindkraft, vattenkraft och gruvor — ska stanna kvar lokalt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More of the value created from natural resources — such as wind power, hydropower and mines — should remain local.”
• preserve ecosystems»Att skydda den biologiska mångfalden är nödvändigt för att ekosystemen ska kunna fortleva.« (party programme ↗)“Protecting biological diversity is necessary for ecosystems to be able to survive.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly demands that industrial fishing is limited and that the most valuable sea areas are protected, at the same time as the regulations shall favour small-scale and coastal fishing. Fishing shall moreover keep itself within scientific assessments of what the stocks can bear. Significantly reduced quotas directed towards large-scale industrial fishing, with an allocation system that protects local fishing, is thereby exactly what the plan advocates.

• limit industrial fishingdecisive»industrifisket ska begränsas och de mest värdefulla havsområdena skyddas som marina reservat« (2022 manifesto ↗)“industrial fishing shall be limited and the most valuable sea areas protected as marine reserves”
• favour small-scale coastal fishing»Regelverket ska gynna småskaligt och kustnära fiske« (party programme ↗)“The regulations shall favour small-scale and coastal fishing”
• fishing within scientific framework»Fisket måste bedrivas på ett långsiktigt hållbart sätt och hålla sig inom ramen för vetenskapliga« (party programme ↗)“Fishing must be conducted in a long-term sustainable way and keep itself within the framework of scientific”
• protect sea environment»Sverige omges av hav som behöver skyddas genom avtal mellan alla kuststater.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden is surrounded by seas that need to be protected through agreement between all coastal states.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme states that excessive fishing harvest only leads to stocks diminishing and the industry dying out, and that fishing shall be conducted according to the stewardship principle and be long-term sustainable. The programme furthermore wants to see closeness between producer and consumer and highlights coastal fishing's regional political importance. Sharply reduced quotas with reductions first and foremost in industrial fishing, in favour of coastal fishing for human consumption, follow from these commitments.

• limited fishing harvestdecisive»Ett alltför omfattande fiskeuttag gynnar ingen utan resulterar endast i att tillgången sinar och att näringen på lång sikt dör ut.« (party programme ↗)“Excessive fishing harvest benefits no one but only results in supply diminishing and the industry in the long term dying out.”
• stewardship over fish resources»Fisket ska i likhet med allt annat nyttjande av naturresurser ske med hänsyn till förvaltarskapsprincipen.« (party programme ↗)“Fishing shall like all other use of natural resources be conducted with regard to the stewardship principle.”
• closeness between producer and consumer»Jordbrukspolitiken bör utformas så att den skapar förutsättningar för närhet mellan producent och konsument.« (party programme ↗)“Agriculture policy should be designed so that it creates conditions for closeness between producer and consumer.”
• coastal fishing's importance»Den regionalpolitiska betydelsen av svenskt fiske är stor.« (party programme ↗)“The regional political importance of Swedish fishing is large.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly points out trawling as the cause of declining stocks and wants to move the trawl limit from four to twelve nautical miles to protect herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea. That is the same thing as the counter-proposal requires: that cuts primarily affect large-scale industrial fishing and that coastal fishing for human consumption is protected. The plan's commitment to powerful measures for marine environment points in the same direction.

• moved trawl limitdecisive»Stävja minskningen av sill-/strömmingsbestånden i Östersjön genom att flytta gränsen för trålfiske från fyra till tolv nautiska mil« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prevent the decline of herring/sprat stocks in the Baltic Sea by moving the trawl limit from four to twelve nautical miles”
• trawling behind stock decline»Fiskerinäringen har drabbats hårt av minskade bestånd på senare år inte minst på grund av det kustnära trålfisket« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The fishing industry has been hit hard by declining stocks in recent years especially due to coastal trawling”
• powerful marine environment measures»Moderaterna vill vidta kraftfulla åtgärder för att förbättra havs- och vattenmiljön.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderate Party wants to take powerful measures to improve the marine and water environment.”
• overfishing as environmental problem»utfiskning slår mot en levande havsmiljö« (party programme ↗)“overfishing strikes against a living marine environment”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan establishes that the marine and water environment must be prioritized more clearly over overly intensive fishing and that the pace of restoring the Baltic Sea's marine environment should increase. The counter-proposal's requirement for sharply reduced quotas, primarily for large-scale industrial fishing that does not go to human consumption, is precisely such a prioritization. The plan moreover emphasizes self-sufficiency in food and that local communities' industries should benefit the countryside.

• marine environment before intensive fishingdecisive»Vår havs- och vattenmiljö måste prioriteras tydligare framför ett allt för intensivt fiske och omfattande vindkraftsutbyggnad.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our marine and water environment must be prioritized more clearly over overly intensive fishing and extensive wind power expansion.”
• restore the Baltic Sea's marine environment»Öka takten i arbetet med att återställa havsmiljön i Östersjön« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase the pace of work to restore the marine environment in the Baltic Sea”
• food for human consumption»Öka det svenska jordbrukets konkurrenskraft och Sveriges självförsörjning av livsmedel« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase Swedish agriculture's competitiveness and Sweden's self-sufficiency in food”
• local communities' industries first»Landsbygden finns i första hand till för de människor som bor och verkar här och inte för att storstadsborna ska ha någonstans att vistas på semestern eller som en tillflyktsort för människor som tröttnat på den urbana kulturen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The countryside exists primarily for the people who live and work there and not so that city dwellers have somewhere to stay on holiday or as a refuge for people who have tired of urban culture.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.