Denmark's Minister for Food, Fisheries and Agriculture Jacob Jensen has restored a fishing ban near the FMC Rønland chemical plant. The site was formerly known as Cheminova. The minister said local concerns prompted the reversal.
Local residents and politicians in West Jutland expressed alarm after the ban was lifted earlier this year. Jensen acknowledged their worries in a written statement.
He said he understood the cancellation created uncertainty and concern. Local representatives clearly wanted to keep the prohibition in place. The minister decided to listen to these concerns and reinstate the ban.
The decision must now undergo a four-week consultation process before taking effect. Fishing had been permitted near the former Cheminova factory since July 1.
Before that, fishing was banned in the area between Harboøre and Thyborøn for about forty years. The original prohibition was removed as part of Jensen's regulatory simplification project.
Jensen noted that regulatory simplification remains very important to him. But this case shows why it's a complex area to work with, he added.
The lifting of the ban drew criticism from experts and other politicians. Even Jensen's party colleague Bent Graversen from Central Denmark Region expressed concerns.
Graversen said he found it worrying to remove the ban without proper testing. Common sense suggests systematic investigation should come before lifting restrictions, he argued.
The former Cheminova factory sits on Harboøre Tange. The company's old chemical depot Høfde 42 is also located there.
Both locations are classified as generational pollution sites. This term refers to contamination problems expected to remain hazardous for many generations without intervention.
The reversal shows how environmental safety concerns can override bureaucratic streamlining efforts, even in regulation-conscious Denmark.