Norwegian fisheries minister will be fired, say TV reports
Norway’s fisheries and oceans minister Bjørnar Skjæran (Labour) is on his way out of the government, sources close to the process have told state broadcaster NRK, and commercial channel TV2.
Skjæran himself is said to have objected to being replaced, and wants to continue as a minister himself, according to sources TV2 has spoken to.
The person that both channels are tipping as his successor is Storting (Parliament) politician Cecilie Myrseth from Troms.
She has previously been fisheries policy spokesperson for the Labour Party.
Important sector
The fisheries and oceans portfolio includes fish farming, a hugely important sector for Norway, which produces more farmed salmon than any other country. Norway produced 1,365,400 gutted weight tonnes of Atlantic salmon last year, according to figures the Salmon Farming Industry Handbook produced by the world's biggest Atlantic salmon farmer, Mowi.
Most of the salmon is exported, benefiting Norway's balance of payments.
The Norwegian government also benefits from double tax on salmon and trout farming profits. As well as the standard 22% corporation tax charged on the profits of all business, it has introduced a 25% "ground rent" tax which lifts the tax on profits made by salmonid farmers to 47%.
