Russian Fishing Activities off the Coast of Finnmark—A Legal History

• Published in: Arctic Review on Law and Politics
• Main Author: Kirsti Strøm Bull
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Norwegian
• Published: Cappelen Damm Akademisk NOASP 2015
• Subjects: fishery; Russia; legal history; rights to marine resources; Finnmark; The Lapp Codicil; droit; hist; Norway; Arctic; Arctic review on law and politics
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v6.60; https://doaj.org/article/31ed8888a5ea41d8b65ce673710b2895

The rich fishery resources off the coast of Finnmark have historically attracted fishermen from other parts of Norway and from neighbouring countries. This article discusses the legal history of Russian fishing activities off the coast of Finnmark and covers the historical period from the 1700s until the termination of this fishery in the early 1900s. The article shows that Russian fishermen, like the Sámi from Finland—and unlike fishermen from other nations, were authorized to establish shacks and landing places. Both the agreements and legal disputes surrounding the fishery, which lasted until World War I, are discussed in the article.