Legal pluralism in norwegian inshore fisheries: differing perceptions of fishing rights in Sami Finnmark

• Main Author: Søreng, Siri U
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central Ltd. 2013
• Subjects: Norway; Finnmark; Northern Norway; sami
• Online Access: http://www.maritimestudiesjournal.com/content/12/1/9

Abstract This paper explores the opinions of people subsisting on inshore resources toward fishing rights. The empirical setting is a series of public hearings organized by a government-appointed committee charged with investigating inshore fishing rights in northern Norway. The investigation originated in the Sami struggle to secure rights also to marine waters. The hearings provided local inhabitants - included those of non-Sami origin - with an opportunity to voice their concerns. The paper thus provides insights into the perceptions of people living in ethnically mixed areas of fishing rights and the challenges arising from implementing indigenous rights. The author concludes that governance needs to include stakeholders' different perspectives' on fishing rights. The fisheries management could benefit from having a legal pluralist approach which makes it sensitive to local fisheries technical and cultural differences.