Towards a new fisheries effort management system for the Faroe Islands? - Controversies around the meaning of fishing sustainability

Abstract

The Faroe Islands are currently struggling to find their feet in a new context of globalisation and changing international requirements on fishery management best practices, as exemplified by United Nations protocols and agreements. We introduce the Faroese fisheries effort management system for cod, haddock and saithe, which represents an innovative attempt to tackle the challenges of mixed fisheries by means of a combination of total allowable effort implemented through days-at-sea and extensive use of closed or limited access areas. Subsequently, we present and discuss controversies concerning the system's ability (or lack thereof) to achieve a level of fishing effort that produces long-term sustainability. Over the years the system has proved able to evolve and overcome challenges, and the Faroe Islands are currently considering adding a proper fisheries management plan to the system to achieve fishing at maximum sustainable yield. However, finding support for this plan presents a challenge due particularly to an enduring gap between the perspectives of scientists and actors in the catching sector. Finally, we outline some actions that could be taken to reduce the gap and hence facilitate reform of the system: 1) integration of the consultative/advisory process; 2) obtaining tailor-made advice for the Faroese effort management system from the relevant scientific body; 3) establishment of a transparent mechanism for monitoring and regulating fishing effort; 4) clarifying the efficacy of the prevalent system of closed areas.

Ræstur fiskur: air-dried fermented fish the Faroese way

“…During the twentieth century the economy of the Faroes transformed from small-scale coastal fishery to deep-sea fishery in the North Atlantic. Today, fishing is the primary economic activity [ 13 , 43 ]. The Faroe Islands has a large fleet of trawlers and smaller line fishing boats, fish factories and also raises salmon ( Salmo salar L.) and sea trout ( Salmo trutta trutta L.) in fish-farms.…”

Collapse of cooperation? The North-Atlantic mackerel dispute and lessons for international cooperation on transboundary fish stocks

“…Fishermen loom large in the community and the economy of the Faroe Islands (Hegland and Hopkins 2014). The Faroese Minister of Fisheries leads the negotiations, and the relationship between business and politics is extremely close (Winthereig 2010).…”

Nordic fisheries in transition

“…As a consequence, a great share of the distant fleet returned to the home waters and national catches subsequently increased in the first part of the 1980s. In contrast to many other countries who implemented output quotas in this period, the Faroe Islands continued with a management based on a series of technical regulations and temporary closures of areas, supplemented in 1987 with a license system to curb the catching capacity (Hegland & Hopkins, 2014). However, a combination of high fishing pressure and low bio-recruitment in the late 1980s led to a crisis in the fishing sector and thus ultimately also to a national economic crisis in 1992 (ICES, 2004).…”

“…As part of the economic restructuring, an ITQ system was introduced in 1994 for the main demersal species (cod, saithe and haddock). However, the Faroese ITQ system was abandoned already after two years due to the increasing difficulties for the administration in estimating the stock sizes (including concerns for discarding and misreporting of catches) and due to wide-spread opposition in the sector (Hegland & Hopkins, 2014). Accordingly, the sectoral opposition to the ITQ system was also fuelled by a sentiment that it was imposed on the Faroese sector from the Danish authorities.…”

“…There was no weekly licenses or annual quotas to be observed. On the other side, the days at sea system has recently been criticized for its high fishing pressure and for the "marginalisation" of scientific advice (Hegland & Hopkins, 2014;ICES, 2004). Today especially the cod stocks are under pressure, which has a further negative impact on the coastal fisheries that depend on the cod resource.…”