| Summary: | Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of a Philosophiae Doctor degree in Geography Designing a truly sustainable fisheries management regime has been a challenge internationally. Iceland is not an exception in this regard. Icelandic fisheries and their management has gone through tremendous changes since the 1980s. The implementation of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) was especially important. During the same period, Icelandic coastal communities have faced major socio-economic and demographic challenges. A very prominent question in public and political debates has been to what extent the development in the fishing industry has played a part in the negative development of many fishing communities. Yet, questions about the regional and local development implications of the Icelandic fisheries management system have never been answered unequivocally. Available data have not been utilized fully in order to understand the complex processes that have affected fisheries-dependent localities. One way to approach such questions is provided by the concept of resilience. The assessment of the resilience of Icelandic fisheries communities to the structural changes in the fishing industry was the focal point of this research project. In addition, the notion of structural change – from a social and geographic point of view – is introduced and combined with a theoretical treatise of fundamental values such as solidarity and justice. A quantitative, countrywide analysis was undertaken, making use of diverse existing data, on fisheries on the one hand and on local socioeconomic developments on the other. This statistical analysis was supplemented with qualitative data, derived from case studies. Two communities that have followed different development trajectories were chosen for an in-depth analysis of those factors that have contributed to a higher or lower degree of resilience. Substantial differences were found in the level of resilience of these two coastal villages. The analysis has revealed two ...
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