Figuring Fish and Measuring Men: The Quota System in the Icelandic Cod Fishery

• Main Authors: Pálsson, Gísli, Helgason, Agnar
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1995
• Subjects: IASC; common pool resources; fisheries; quotas; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10535/2129

"This article discusses inequality in the Icelandic cod fishery, focusing on changes in the actual distribution of fishing quotas and the ways in which Icelanders currently talk about equity and ownership. The quota system, introduced in 1983, divided access to an important resource among those who happened to be boat owners when the system was introduced. With the fisheries legislation in 1990, the system was revised: some of the smallest boats (6-10 tons) previously excluded from quota restrictions were now incorporated in the system and, secondly, permanent quotas became effectively transferable. Our statistical findings - built on a database (the 'Quota-base') we have constructed with detailed information on all vessels that have been allotted quotas from the onset of the system - show that quotas have been increasingly concentrated in the hands of the biggest companies. Meanwhile, public discontent with the concentration of quotas and the ensuing social repercussions is increasingly articulated in terms of feudal metaphors, including those of 'tenancy' and the 'lords of the sea.'"