Reports

Coastal fisheriers in the N-Atlantic / Kystfiskeri

Published:

29/06/2018

Authors:

Jónas R. Viðarsson

Supported by:

NORA, Nordic Council of Ministers (AG-Fisk) and CCFI

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Coastal fisheriers in the N-Atlantic / Kystfiskeri

Coastal fisheries play a vital role in the marine sector of the Nordic countries and often serve as the backbone of the economy of smaller coastal communities. The coastal fleets usually have a big presence in smaller, more remote fishing villages, supplying local processing companies with raw material. The coastal sector is therefore highly important for regional development, as it represents a significant part of total landings and offers employment for a large number of fishermen, processors and other supporting industries. Despite its importance, the Nordic coastal fleet has been struggling for survival for the last decades. This is why a team of stakeholders in the Nordic coastal sector came together in 2012 to facilitate networking within this important sector. With support from NORA, the Nordic Council of Ministers (AG-fisk) and the Canadian Center for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) they organized conferences and workshops with the aim of exploring opportunities for cooperation and knowledge transfer. This led to various collaborative initiatives and has resulted in the publication of reports on the Nordic coastal sector (s), development of a mobile app to indicate to coastal fishermen how much ice is needed to properly chill and store their catches, publication of brochures in most of the Nordic languages on good on-board handling, publication of a video on the Nordic coastal sector and on-board handling, participation in various workshops and conferences relevant to Nordic coastal fisheries; as well as setting up and maintaining a web page www.coastalfisheries.net where project outcomes and other relevant material is made accessible. This report marks the end of the project and constitutes as the final report to NORA, which was one of the funding bodies supporting the project. The project was primarily intended to facilitate networking and knowledge transfer among stakeholders in the Nordic coastal sector and it is the conclusion of the project partners that the initiative has successfully met those expectations.

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Reports

Coastal fisheries in the North Atlantic / Small boat fishing in the North Atlantic

Published:

01/01/2015

Authors:

Jónas R. Viðarsson, Gunnar Þórðarson, Edgar Henriksen, Audun Iversen, Durita Djurhuus, Tønnes Berthelsen, Heather Manuel, Tom Brown, David Decker

Supported by:

NORA (510-080), Nordic Council (AG-fisk 80-2013), Canadian Center for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI)

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Coastal fisheries in the North Atlantic / Small boat fishing in the North Atlantic

Coastal fisheries are an important part of the North Atlantic marine sector and a vital part of a successful regional development in the area. This report provides an overview of the coastal sectors in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Newfoundland & Labrador, summarizing the key issues that affect the sectors in each country and the contribution of the fleets towards their national economy and the micro- & macro societies. The report addresses how fisheries management in each country affects the coastal sectors, but there are strategies in place in all of the countries that favor the coastal fleet in one way or another. The report also provides an overview of the fleet structure, catch volumes, catch values, fishing gear, regional distribution of landings, employment and operational environment in the sectors of each country. In 2013 the N-Atlantic coastal fleet consisted of 17 thousand vessels and provided full time employment for 18 thousand fishermen. In addition there are a considerable number of fishermen that have coastal fisheries as a secondary source of income or as a hobby and. The sector also produces a large number of jobs in processing and supporting industries. It can therefore be estimated that the N-Atlantic coastal fleet provides livelihood for at least 50 thousand families, which are primarily located in small fishing villages were the communities rely heavily on the sector for survival. Total landings of the N-Atlantic coastal sector in 2013 amounted to 680 thousand MT, valued at 815 million EUR. The report though clearly shows that the N-Atlantic coastal sector is highly fragmented, not only between countries but also within individual countries. The vessels range from being very modest old-style dinghies that fish few hundred kilos a year to industrialized state-of-art fishing vessels that catch up to two thousand tonnes of fish a year, which can be valued at over 4 million EUR. The N-Atlantic coastal sector is an important part of the Nordic marine sector and will continue to be so. The fleet has though been going through big changes in recent years, where the number of vessels and fishermen have been decreasing significantly. Big part of the fleet is struggling to make ends meet and recruitment of young fishermen is very limited. A relatively small part of the sector is though running profitable businesses and providing high paying jobs. This is the part of the fleet that accounts for majority of the catches and has invested in new vessels, gear, technology and quotas. It seems unavoidable that this optimization will continue with the coastal fleet consisting of fewer, better equipped and more profitable vessels.

Small boat fishing and related industries are an important part of the fishing industry and other ocean-related activities in the North Atlantic. The industry is also very important for rural development in the area. This report seeks to provide an overview of the small boat fleet in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Newfoundland & Labrador (NL), which summarizes the main factors that affect the industry in each country, the development of the fleet in recent years and how the industry affects the national economy and local communities. The report discusses in particular how fisheries management and various other government measures affect the small boat sector. However, in the countries covered by the report, the authorities seek to support small boating with various laws and regulations that favor small boats in one way or another. The report also provides an overview of size and composition, catch and catch value, fishing gear, geographical distribution, job creation and operating conditions of the small boat fleets in the aforementioned countries. In 2013, the small boat fleet in the North Atlantic * consisted of about 17 thousand boats and 18 thousand full-time fishermen. In addition, there were a significant number of people who worked part-time or part-time as sailors. The small boat fleet also created a large number of jobs on land in the processing of catch and in various supporting industries. It is estimated that at least 50,000 families in the North Atlantic * make their living from fishing, processing and servicing the small boat fleet. Most of these jobs are in maritime communities that rely heavily on the small boat fleet. The total catch of the small boat fleet in the North Atlantic * in 2013 was 680 thousand tonnes and the catch value was about 815 million Euros (about 130 billion ISK at current prices), but Iceland's share in these figures was about 13% of catch volume and 16% of catch value. However, this report shows that the small boat fleet in the North Atlantic is very diverse, both between countries and within countries, i.e. Boats can range from old-fashioned chillers that catch just a few pounds a year to state-of-the-art speedboats that catch up to 2,000 tons a year. The small boat fleet in the North Atlantic plays an important role in the fisheries sector in the area and will continue to do so. However, the fleet has changed considerably in recent years, as the number of boats and fishermen has decreased significantly. A large part of the fleet is operating at a loss and recruitment to the small boat fleet is limited. The relatively small proportion of the fleet, on the other hand, is run with good profits and creates well-paid jobs. This part of the fleet is behind the majority of the catch and is also the part that has invested in new boats, fishing gear, technology and fishing permits. It seems inevitable that this rationalization will continue within the small boat fleet in the North Atlantic, i.e. to reduce the number of ships, but the remaining ones are larger, better equipped and return more profit to the owners and crew.

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Reports

Coastal communities and coastal fisheries in the N-Atlantic (Kystsamfund): A summary report on conference proceedings

Published:

01/11/2014

Authors:

Jónas R. Viðarsson, Audun Iversen, Edgar Henriksen, Bengt Larson, Carl-Axel Ottosson, Henrik S. Lund, Durita Djurhuus, Auðunn Konráðsson, Tønnes Berthelsen, Heather Manuel, David Decker, Sveinn Agnarsson, Halldór Ármannsson, Staffan Waldo, Johan Blomquist , Max Nielsen, Hrafn Sigvaldason, Bjarni Sigurðsson

Supported by:

The Working Group for Fisheries Co-operation (AG-Fisk) of the Nordic Council of Ministers _ AG-fisk project 108-2014

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Coastal communities and coastal fisheries in the N-Atlantic (Kystsamfund): A summary report on conference proceedings

A conference titled “Coastal fisheries and coastal communities in the N-Atlantic” was held on September 27th 2014 in connection with the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition www.icefish.is, which took place in Kópavogur, Iceland on September 25-27. The motivation for the conference is that coastal fisheries and coastal communities in the N-Atlantic are currently faced with numerous operational and social challenges, but at the same time new opportunities have arisen. Some of these challenges and opportunities are specific to each country and some are common to the area as a whole. The aim of the conferences was to identify these challenges and opportunities, and to discuss how they can be addressed at national and / or cooperative Nordic level. The conference was attended by fifty stakeholders from seven N-Atlantic countries. At the conference, representatives from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland and Newfoundland had presentations on the coastal fishing sector and the coastal communities in their countries. They also deliberated on the future prospects of the traditional fishing villages, taking into consideration current trends and upcoming opportunities. These country profiles were followed by a presentation on a Nordic research project that is set to examine wages in the Nordic coastal sectors and to compare them with other professions. The last presentation of the conference was aimed at comparing operational environment in the coastal sector in Iceland and Norway, as Icelandic fishermen working in Norway introduced their experience in running their business in Norway as opposed to Iceland. The planned agenda included a presentation from the chairman of the Icelandic Regional Development Institute, which had intended to deliberate on the institute's strategy to support regional development. But he unfortunately had to cancel with only a few hours advance, which made it impossible to find a replacement. Following is a short summary of each presentation, but pdf versions and video recordings along with numerous other supporting material is available at the project's web-page www.coastalfisheries.net.

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