Denmark builds North Sea fence, Brits will pay, Danish minister says

“All Danes love herring but only few of them know that Danish herrings are caught in British waters. The Danish herrings migrate west as they grow, and they aren’t ripe for catching until they reach British waters. We expect the Brits to ban foreign fishers from British waters after Brexit, and the new fence will prevent young herring from migrating out of Danish territory. No Dane should miss out on herring that should rightfully be considered ours”, Eva Kjer Hansen says.

The herring fence, which is going to be the world’s fourth largest of its kind, will span from Fisher in the north to German Bight in the south, but in the long term Eva Kjer Hansen hopes to expand it through German and Dutch territory to Dogger Bank in the western North Sea.

 

”I will reach out to my colleagues in Germany and the Netherlands as soon as possible to find a common solution for all our countries. That is the only way to encircle the herrings’ full spawning area. It’s a common problem calling for common solutions but for now, we are building the fence in Danish territory. The Brits created this problem, and I am going to make them pay for the fence”, Eva Kjer Hansen says.

The North Sea herring fence is expected to cost 1.066 million Danish Kroner, and according to Eva Kjer Hansen that is a good investment.

”Fences like these have a good durability, and the value of the herring we keep for us selves far exceeds the cost of the fence. And bear in mind that the Brits obviously don’t lack funds. For them, the cost of the herring fence is only a drop in a sea of Brexit related expenses”, Eva Kjer Hansen says.

Construction of the North Sea herring fence is awaiting the result of an EU tender and is expected to commence shortly after Brexit.

The fence is expected to be ready for the herring season 2020.

For further information contact:

Anna Munck, press officer, +45 61979033