Global Courant
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Norwegian lobster fishing dates all the way back to the 17th century. Norwegians exported live lobsters to the continent, and coastal residents could make good money from it. That adventure is long over.
Alf Ring Kleiven (Photo: Elin Høyland)Today the stock is seriously depleted. Lobster is classified as “vulnerable” on the Norwegian Red List.
The commercial lobster fishery is virtually extinct. It is the recreational fishermen who dominate, those who are not dependent on financial returns.
Every year, approximately 33,000 recreational fishermen register for lobster fishing. Anyone can fish with ten teeth each.
The main reason why the Norwegian lobster population is so low is extensive fishing.
We see this clearly in nature reserves for lobsters. Here you can only fish with rod and line, no fishing lines, so the lobster goes free.
We at the Institute of Marine Research conduct research into the effects of such protected areas. After fifteen years of conservation, the number of pounds of lobster we receive in the ponds during our field surveys has increased by 500 percent. We see more and larger lobsters than before.
The article continues below the advertisementIf we stop fishing for lobsters, the stock will become significantly stronger.
Today’s measures are not working well enough
Various measures have been taken in the lobster fishery over the past fifteen years, with the aim of rebuilding the stock.
It worked – sort of. The decline in shares appears to have slowed, but we are not seeing the growth that was the aim of the measures.
The problem with the current measures is that they only regulate effort. Not the number of participants. Not how much can be fished.
The article continues below the advertisementThe rules mainly concern the season and the number of teeth per fisherman. But it is not regulated how many people can participate in the lobster fishery. The total number of teeth in the sea is virtually unlimited.
Any build-up of the stock can be easily eaten. More lobsters in the sea means that the chance of being caught increases – and then more people will soon go fishing. This is a well-known phenomenon worldwide, especially in recreational fishing.
The best thing would have been to stop lobster fishing for a few yearsOur research results from the protected areas show that the most effective measure would have been to temporarily halt lobster fishing. Then the stock could be built up to a firmer level.
Is it possible in practice? Lobster fishing is a traditional part of our coastal culture and means many things to many people. Resistance to temporary protection was great.
But it is just as necessary that measures are taken.
So what can be done? Yes:
The number of teeth per recreational fisherman must immediately be halved. Then fewer lobsters fall into the trap and fewer fish are lost at sea. Lost teeth can remain fishy for years. Consideration should be given to whether only professional fishermen can document a historic commercial lobster fishery that is allowed to fish with a hundred teeth. Today, any brand-registered fishing vessel can do this. Introduce maximum targets in Western Norway, which have already been introduced in the Skagerrak.In the long term, authorities also need to change management: instead of regulating efforts, we need to regulate lobster removal.
There should be a ceiling on the amount of lobster that can be caught annually, for both professional and recreational fishermen.
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We can call it quota. We marine scientists need to create a system to provide knowledge-based quota advice – but we will achieve that. We have almost a hundred years of experience with other stocks.
The authorities and fishermen must participate in discussions about how such a system should be designed.
If we combine these measures with a network of both existing and new nature reserves, we secure the future of the Norwegian lobster and at the same time operate a sustainable fishery.(Conditions)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and/or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via links that lead directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the contents may only be made with written permission or as permitted by law. For further conditions see here.
We can save the lobster, but that means major cuts to the fishery
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