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Caught in the Net |
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Archives -
2007 Archive
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Written by Ó. M. Lassen
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Saturday, 19 May 2007 |
The Faroese fish an amazing 614,000 tonnes per year, just above one-half of it within their own EEZ — but groundfish tends to catch too much attention of policymakers perceived to threaten an otherwise well functioning system.
The Faroe Islands’ status as a fishing nation is clearly revealed by the large share of its exports that are fish related products, amounting to 3.5 billion dkk out of total exports of 3.7bn dkk. Around 94 percent of Faroese exports are fish products. The prominence of the fishing industry is also apparent in the payment of wages and salaries. In 2006, the total wages paid in the Faroes amounted to 6.4bn dkk, and of this 20 percent was paid to fishermen and those working in the onshore fish processing industry. This shows clearly that the fishing industry has great importance for the economy and has a big impact on the society as a whole.
Total Faroese catches of 2006 amounted to an approximate 614,000 metric tons, of which 329,000 mt were caught within the Faroe exclusive economic zone, 55,000 mt off Iceland, of which under one-tenth were groundfish. Faroese catches in other foreign waters reached 229,000 mt.
According to the Faroese Shipowners Association, the total catch value increased by 18 percent in comparison with 2005 while quantities only increased by around 5 percent, so this is an increase in value which clearly stems from a price increase.
2006 catches in waters within the Faroe EEZ totaled approximately 718,000 mt, of which foreign vessels caught 389,000 mt and Faroese boats fished 329,000 mt.
Outlook: In general, it can be said that the majority of the Faroese fishing fleets are enjoying a profitable period. The so-called home fleet, involved in demersal fishery within the Faroese EEZ, is characterized by comprising mainly older vessels, although some newly built additions have arrived in the past few years. Another fleet, which indeed can afford new vessels, consists of purse seiners and filleting trawlers and the operational success rate of this group is remarkably higher than that of the home fleet, which in fact experiences great difficulty in finding investment capital for vessel renewal.
Purse seiners/pelagic trawlers enjoyed considerably better results than in 2005, making 2006 a very good year. The filleting trawlers also had a good 2006, likewise an improvement compared to 2005.
For the pair trawlers, with their high percentage of new boats, 2006 can also be deemed a successful year and it was the combination of good catches and high prices that was the reason for their profitable operations. On the other hand, the deep sea trawlers—mostly operating within the 200-mile EEZ like the pair trawlers—were not as successful as they had been in 2005 and the disappointing results for this category of vessels were due to reduced catches and relatively high fuel expenses.
The outlook for coastal trawlers on the other hand remains satisfactory with reasonably positive results in 2006, in spite of the fact that vessels in this sector were allocated relatively few days at sea.
Overall, longliners — including coastal line boats — experienced a fairly profitable year in 2006. Decreased cost of bait coupled with good fish prices contributed to the satisfactory results for this category.
Effort system requires stamina: The current effort management system, the so-called ‘fishing days system, was introduced in 1996. The system has won international renown and could well be one of the world’s best systems for regulating commercial fisheries. The system aims to be self regulating in the sense that when there is abundance of fish, it is caught by the vessels under the system and when, on the other hand, fish is scarce, so these vessels get less fish. The advantages: no discarding of marketable fish, highly accurate statistics, and a more stable business environment with better knowledge for the fishing fleets of their rights in future years, the main objective being that major changes should not be made on a yearly basis, as used to happen under the quota system.
However, the Fishing Days System system appears to be such a revolutionary measure that many fishery scientists have not managed to adjust or relate to it but continue to talk only about reductions, worrying that every downward fluctuation in fish stocks signals imminent depletion. We should bear in mind that the Fishing Days System was devised by the fishing industry in cooperation with scientists and managers and should be allowed sufficient time to prove its worth.
But, it seems the political system has come under increasing pressure to introduce cutbacks and reduce days at sea—ultimately threatening to create similar problems as those witnessed in neighboring countries, where most fleets (those who haven’t been scrapped yet) have trouble running a profitable business, to say the least.
The Fishing Days System requires policymakers to have nerves of steel, to have the courage to afford the system adequate time to be properly tested without making annual changes. The trouble is, alas, ongoing year-to-year interference has already started to eat away at the world’s best fishery management system.
Strange ways: The fishing industries of oceanic nations tend to have problems due to the lack of understanding on the part of large numbers of people with influence including scores of experts of various kinds.
Social change and population movement into the big cities are coupled with the public sector becoming more technocratic and rigid. This causes constant problems for many individuals, making it more difficult for them to run a profitable fishing business, and has a particularly harsh impact on the smaller boats.
By some strange reason, there is special focus on demersal fishing and coastal fleets, whereas there is not the same level of scrutiny when it comes to big ships like the larger trawlers. It would seem that the larger the capital assets, the less the interference — conventional wisdom has it that the importance of this fishery is so great that focusing too much attention on their activities should be avoided. By contrast, a great effort is spent on debating and severely regulating the older, smaller fishing boats catching groundfish.
Unwarranted turmoil: In recent years there have also been political changes and people entering Parliament with little insight into fishing matters. In addition, the population concentration in and around the capital leads to constant pressure for charges to be made for days at sea, notably the idea of creating a ‘days at sea bank’ to allow everyone the opportunity to bid for days at sea and hire someone else to fish the entitlement.
There are worries that such a system devised by policymakers could lead to some sort of oligarchic capitalism, under which fishermen and shipowners will have operate fishing on behalf of financial investors.
In the estimation of Jákup Sólstein, chairman of the Faroese Shipowners Association, the whole area of fisheries policy appears to be in a state of turmoil with current fishing regulations under great pressure for change. However it is the estimation of the fishing industry that the system has worked well for more than a decade and unwarranted changes are unwelcome.
Threats: As a whole, it can be said that the biggest threat to the Fishing Days System is that of domestic policy, and it is surprising that such a small country seems to be incapable of establishing a long-term, sensible fisheries policy but instead succumbs to pressure created by urbanization and technocracy.
Other circumstances which may threaten demersal fisheries are caused by cod farming as it is likely that Norwegian and Faroese cod farming will result in the price of wild cod falling substantially and may, in addition, cause a decline in the reputation of this food product. Another matter in question is how farmed cod may affect wild cod, including any potential genetic impact which might cause wild cod to become less robust and result in loss of immunity and increased mortality. In view of what happened with wild salmon and salmon prices, it is strange that no serious research appears to be undertaken in this area and no questions raised about cod farming. Once again, where big capital is involved, no questions are asked; meanwhile, we endlessly discuss whether we should allow 20,000 or 30,000 tons of cod to be fished per year. This is clearly out of proportion.
Allowed here, not there: The Faroe Islands are not an isolated society but are part of the global village, and an oil industry would also impose major requirements on the fishing industry. In addition to a potential oil and gas industry, we are also aware of increased foreign capital interest in the Faroes and foreigners are now allowed to own up to 33 percent of a fishing vessel or fishery company.
Foreign banks are also providing finance for the Faroese fishing fleets and increased competition in the financial market may ultimately have an influence on the cost of fishing vessels. Foreign ownership will increase the pressure on the industry, especially regarding taxation — we have seen owners selling their vessels for very high amounts. At the same time, it should be noted that there are companies in the Faroe fishing industry acting as nominee shareholders for foreign interests, which does not improve the reputation of the fishing industry. So we are justified in questioning whether foreign ownership of the industry is a positive development. One thing is for sure: it is not permitted neither in Iceland nor in Norway.
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