Local Official Fined for Illegal Lobster Storage; Admits to ‘Gross Mistake’
The ordinarily peaceful waters of Bjørnafjorden commune were recently stirred by an unusual legal matter. The commune’s mayor, Lars Søviknes, found himself on the wrong side of the law when he was reported to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries in December 2023 for unauthorized lobster storage.
In a nutshell, Søviknes was caught with a number of live lobsters on his unregistered boat, a violation of Norwegian fishery regulations. As a result, he was slapped with a NOK 15,000 fine for failing to report the crustaceans.Adding insult to injury, he also received an order to pay NOK 3,000, equivalent to the value of ten used lobster traps, because his boat was not mark-registered.
The mayor, visibly chagrined, admitted to the oversight, chalking it up to a lapse in memory during his trip to Kiel in autumn 2023, after the lobster season had ended. "I’m usually meticulous about following the rules, but this time I simply forgot," Søviknes told Fiskeribladet, describing the incident as an embarrassing "old mistake."
While Søviknes dismissed the incident as a regrettable lapse in judgement, the fine serves as a stark reminder of the importance of adhering to fishery regulations, particularly in the wake of increased scrutiny aimed at ensuring sustainable fisheries.
