Reine J. Johansson, recent spokesperson for the Swedish Pelagic Federation, has sadly died. Reine was possibly the greatest Swedish influencer of both international and national fisheries policy in all times.
Before becoming a representative of the Swedish fisheries sector, Reine Johansson was an active member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party as a young man and retained strong links to the political establishment.
For many years, he was the Chair of the Swedish Fishermenโs Federation, overseeing years of great change in the sector. In 2006, he became the first Chair of the then recently established Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council โ now the Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC) โ a post that he retained until 2018.
Reine was an extraordinarily active part of national and international debate and negotiations on fisheries policy, and well-known in international fora, the European Commission and in Sweden. He had a keen interest for politics, also outside the fisheries field.
Although not always agreeing on the solutions needed to shape a sustainable fishing sector, allowing fish stocks to thrive, FishSec has been working with Reine J Johansson for many years, often representing the different interest groups in the Baltic Sea Advisory Council together.
A legendary negotiator and representative of the Swedish fishing sector has passed, and even today after his official retirement and a period of illness, his presence will be missed.