Fisheries management as a regional business The case of Norway

1
Fisheries management as a regional business-The
case of Norway

• Paper presented to EAFE, Rome
• 5-7th April 2004
• Torbjørn Trondsen,
• NFH, University of Tromso, Norway
• James A Young.
• University of Stirling, Scotland

2
Plan

• Background to the case for market orientation
• Pertinent trends in Norwegian fisheries
• The relative position of North Norway
• An alternative model concept application
• Conclusions

3
Background to the case for market orientation

• Property rights values
• Resource rent management allocation
• Property rights fish business development
• Governmental motivation to act
• Political industry pressure groups
• EU ?

4
Pertinent trends in Norwegian fisheries

• Decline in number of fishermen vessels
• Increased engine capacity
• Concentration of fishing activities
• Regional imbalance of effort catch

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Fishermen
Trends in Norwegian fisheries
lt14000
Engine capacity
Vessels
6
Concentration of pelagic fishing rights Owners
and regions
Entry regulation
7
Pelagic fishing grounds
Spring herring
Capelin
North Sea Herring
Blue whiting
Mackerel
Hordaland Pelagic capitol
Catch
8
The relative position of North Norway
Catches 2001
Haddock
Cod
Finnmark
Northern Norway
Saithe
Ålesund Factory trawler fleet capital
9
The relative position of North Norway share of
total Norwegian cod catch
Northern Norway
Finnmark
Entry regulation coastal fishing vessels
10
An alternative model the drivers for change

• Closure of fisheries due to overcapacity
• Fishing rights traded
• Expansion in factory vessels (auto longliners)
  and big purse seiners in Western Norway
• Localization of fishing rights a function of
  capital and market control
• Investment in overcapacity rewarded with fishing
  rights.
• Exit of Coastal fishers without individual quotas
  
• Weak regional management of fishing rights
• Former county fishery administration taken over
  by the governmental Directorate of Fisheries in
  Bergen
• Norwegian Fishermens Association dominated by
  quota barons influence over Fishery
  Management Policy

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An alternative model North Norways demands

• Regional Societal ownership
• Fairer regional allocation of fishing rights
• Efficient economic utilization of resources
• Value adding in the coastal communities
• Compatibility with prospective EU frameworks?

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An alternative model background

• The main ideas published
• Toward Market Orientation The role of auctioning
  individual seasonal quotas (ISQ). Marine
  Policy-(in press)
• Fisheries Management and Market Oriented Value
  adding (MOVA). Marine Resource Economics Vol. 16
  No. 1. (2001)
• Experiences from.
• EUs regional co-management systems
• Regional/group quotas management in the US NZ
• Japanese co-management
• Norwegian attitudes regarding regional and
  fisheries management and policy

• General Model SCP
• Structure
• Conduct
• Performance
• Region as a value adding competition arena

13
An alternative model Regional business
management of fishing rights

• Regional Resource Enterprises (RRE)
• Owned by County authority (eg Norwegian Energy)
• Non transferable license leasing contracts to
  individual fishermen
• Quota asset value and leasing income
• resource rent for regional development

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ALLOCATION MODELS OF FISHING RIGHTS
Regional management
Vessel Group management
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An alternative model application of RREs
consequences for fishing operations

• No extra barriers on grounds or landing ports
• Opportunity for flexible combinations of leases
• Greater involvement of individual fishermen
  industry participants
• More stable competitive framework

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An alternative model application of RREs
consequences for fishing operations

• Better focus on market oriented value adding
• Compliance with PO co-management trends
• Compatibility with emergent EU CFP?

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Conclusions

• Limits on enthusiasm for change in existing power
  centres
• Local initiatives necessary
• Co-existence of regional standard vessel group
  management models?
• Regional variations possible
• Finnmark and W Norway different models?
• Political and Industry studies - reviews ongoing
• Finnmark County currently leading but wider
  transnational considerations may dominate?