The successful Faroese fishing days system may inspire fisheries management in many countries, but with structural change looming on the world markets, tough challenges remain for parts of the fishing industry.
In the aftermath of the crisis that hit the Faroes in the early 1990s, measures were taken to improve and update fisheries management, notably a new harvesting regulation known as the Faroese fishing days system. Enjoying the support of all the fisheries organisations in the country, the system soon proved successful, subsequently winning fame far and wide. The system has been credited not only for wholly preventing the problem of fish dumping, but also for striking a sound balance among ecological, social and economical interests in the Faroe Islands.
Introduced in 1996, the fishing day system is essentially a management system of individual transferable quotas, with various restrictions on transferability. Whereas quotas often are given in tonnes of individual species, in this system they are given as fishing days for various groups of fishing vessels in the Faroese fisheries zone. With five groups of vessels, the system is based on an assessment of the fishing capacity of each vessel group.
Presenting the fishing days system to audiences around the world, the former Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Jørgen Niclasen, has been met with enthusiasm. In the UK, politicians pushing for change in EU fisheries policies, in their campaign for the Parliamentary elections in May 2005, highlight the Faroese fishing days system as an example of a working system for sustainable fisheries. In other countries, including Iceland and Chile, the response has been similarly positive, according to reports.
However, the fisheries environment is constantly changing and accordingly updates of the Commercial Fishery Act are expected in 2006. According to Bjørn Kalsø, current Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, a review committee is set to deliver a recommendation by the first of April 2006.
The value of freshness: The Faroese fishing industry had an exceptional performance from the late 1990s up until 2002-2003 when prices of haddock, coley (saithe), and salmon plunged.
With the explosive growth of China as a fish processing nation and exporter of frozen seafood, world fisheries markets are undergoing structural change, sparking discussion on the future of the industry. In the Faroes, the consensus seems to be that for highly value-added segments such as frozen-at-sea fillets of cod and haddock, there isn’t much of a problem caused by competition from low-cost countries. On the other hand, a number of exporters are feeling the heat. Still, overall harvesting was sound in 2004 and groundfish species like cod maintained a good price.
“It’s about how to get the best value out of the resources,” Sonni Kallsoy, a local daytrip fisherman in the fishery town of Eiði remarked. “That’s why we chill the fish by using icy seawater,” he added, referring to quality standard prescriptions mandated by his trading partners. Their demands include the cleaning and chilling of the fish immediately upon catching, in order to maintain the highest degree of freshness—a procedure that has proven profitable for the fishermen.
“Last year we got an average of two krones [EUR 0.27 / USD 0.36] more per kilogram than some of the other fishermen,” Mr Kallsoy added. Much of the catch was shipped straight away as fresh fish export, something that doesn’t please all. The argument against this practice is that it falls short of the normally perceived strategy for adding value to the Faroese catch by processing the fish on land and thus reducing the Faroes to a mere supplier of raw materials. Mr Kallsoy shook his head. “I’d definitely call the freshness our system supports a value-adding feature in itself,” he said.
Small fishing vessels used for a living are granted 116 fishing days per year, which turns out to be sufficient to Mr Kallsoy and his partner. “We’re doing just fine with 58 days per half-year, although in the summer season we could use a few days more,” he added. “But then again, you want some time off, too.”
Although some maintain that even scientific assessments of fisheries stocks are bound to be blurry to a certain extent, the broad consensus in the Faroes, however, is that fisheries must be properly, but not overly, regulated.
Since the 1970s, the main fish stocks in the Faroese fisheries zone have been assessed annually, with assessments undertaken by the Faroese Fisheries Laboratory in conjunction with its working group system and the advisory process of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). While the assessments have generally been considered of a high standard, it is, however, understood that accurate predictions are not possible with the present knowledge, as assessments occasionally turn out to be quite wrong. This is where the Committee on Fishing Days comes in as an advisory board to the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs. The committee scrutinizes in detail the annual assessments and the recommendations based on the research assessments. Considering the socio-economic consequences, the Committee from time to time has declined to make drastic proposals for changing the number of fishing days on the sole basis of one year’s assessment.
Noting the complexity of the issue, the American marine biologist Gary D. Sharp once observed: “The principal reasons why fisheries management has been so unsuccessful have never really been addressed in the fuller contexts of (...) politics and shore side industry interests, or with regard to the interplay of various market and economic processes. In contrast, placing the blame exclusively on the at-sea sector of the industry has become a theme, resulting in a continued decline in the status of fishermen and fishing cultures. This latter group is only one of many important influences on the fisheries situation, and all groups need to be evaluated in this much larger perspective.”
Mr Sharp added: “Similarly, seafarers have learned that every year is unique, within certain seasonal limits. Over a span of 60-80 years, there will be at least two periods of distinct ocean current and wind field patterns that lead to specific changes in the naturally-occurring populations of fishes, mammals, and birds that appear within the bounds of fairly well-defined coastal and offshore regions.
“These are not new concepts. They have been the basis for survival of hunters, fishers, and farmers since the beginning of humanity. We need to incorporate such factors into our own understanding and resource management practices. Indeed, it is exceedingly strange that we have not yet done so.”
More holistic: Faroese fishermen are known to willingly supply accurate catch data, and unlike in many of the neighbouring countries, there are no discards to skew stock assessments in the Faroes. This provides for quality information on which to fine tune the fishing day system, which also includes closing of certain fishing grounds for limited periods.
Regulating all fisheries in the Faroese fisheries zone (FFZ), while also encompassing Faroese fishing vessels operating outside this zone, the 1994 Commercial Fishery Act states that the living marine resources in the FFZ and Faroese allocations in waters outside the FFZ are “the property of the Faroese people” and that these fisheries should be sustainable in biological, economic and socio-economic terms.
From a certain viewpoint, whenever there is a deficiency in food supply for a fish stock, be it because of industrial fishing or natural phenomena, the correct way to deal with it is, counter-intuitively, to increase fishing efforts and thus thin out the stock, bringing it into balance with its food supply. Not without controversy, this view is often advocated in fisheries communities, although regulators have been reluctant to accept it as scientifically viable.
Whereas organisations such as ICES have become de facto standard setters on fisheries management, providing regulators with annual recommendations on quotas and TAC (total allowable catch), sceptics point out that assessments predictions have proved unrealistic more than once. As to the policies of the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, the approach is not merely to seek some sort of golden middle road, but rather to address the issues in a more holistic way and—quite significantly—gain the fishing industry’s trust.
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