Fishing the last frontier—controversies in the regulations of shrimp trawling in the high Arctic

The introduction of modern resource management in post-war fishery policies involved a strict regulation regime for fisheries. Among the measures are limited entry, the introduction of total allowable quota (TAC) and individual vessel quotas in addition to technical regulations for the execution of fishing. Also, institutional measures to reduce overcapacity are established. However, the management of shrimp trawling fisheries in the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and in the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard provides exceptions to this management regime. No TAC is established and the fleet is not restricted by vessel quotas. During recent years there has been a massive increase in catch capacity and the management authorities have suggested total quotas as a new management strategy. An introduction of total quotas involves a number of potential conflicts at different levels; it creates allocation problems across nations and internal allocation problems in the Norwegian shrimp fleet. This article presents the driving forces behind the increase in capacity, a process that stands in sharp contrast to the governmentʹs expressed goal to prevent overcapacity. With no TAC and the absence of allocation at different levels, it is difficult to monitor the capacity development. An assessment of various allocation models shows that the problem of overcapacity first becomes evident when total quotas and allocation are put on the agenda. The question now, is whether the increase in capacity has made the established system outdated and if this calls for new solutions.