The Norwegian-Arctic cod have come to the Lofoten island group every winter to spawn since as far back as the dawn of modern man. For well over a thousand years local fishermen have caught it with all means possible and produced stockfish, dried fish, salt fish and fresh fish for local consumption, Norway and the world market. Local kings, German Hanseatic traders and others have controlled this valuable trade throughout history. However, the actual cod fishery has always been controlled by the coastal fleet, primarily from northern Norway. (See article on 1000 years cod tradition)

With a more “modern” and commercial, industrial fishing fleet, it became possible to catch the cod not only when it returned to the Lofoten spawning grounds, but also all along its wandering route throughout the Barents Sea region. Now, the stocks are fished year-round, at all ages and all ocean depths. There are no longer any safe refuges for this important commercial species. This has increased pressure on younger cod, dramatically increasing the probability of being killed before they have been able to spawn and reproduce. As the amount of young cod taken offshore in the Barents Sea is growing, less cod is available for the coastal fisheries in Lofoten. This impacts both the coastal fishermen, and the wider coastal community that includes the local fish buyers and fish processing industries, including those involved in stockfish production.

This development is being exacerbated by the Norwegian Government, whose policies favour the large, ocean-going fishing fleet at the expense of local, small-scale fisheries. This happens in spite of the fact that the small coastal fleet is more flexible, uses fewer resources to catch fish of better quality and adds significantly to local culture, employment and coastal community maintenance. An average of 800 coastal fishermen have been forced out of fishing every year over the last decade, and very few young fishermen are being recruited to the traditional coastal fleet.

Illegal fishing is also posing a significant threat to the cod populations. The Norwegian Coast Guard estimates more than 100.000 tons of cod is illegally caught annually by the ocean fishing fleet operating in the Barents Sea. Most of this seems to be illegally landed in Russia, the UK and Netherlands, but extremely few boats or companies are ever prosecuted.

Seabed habitats

In addition to contributing to over-fishing and exerting pressure on local communities, trawlers belonging to the factory fleet are laying waste to vulnerable seabed communities. Almost the entire northern Norwegian continental shelf is subject to massive bottom trawling, including the valuable and biologically diverse edge of the continental shelf (Eggakanten). The Norwegian Government has prohibited trawling on coral reefs, a measure that gives only limited protection as only a fraction of these have actually been discovered and documented by the scientists. Numerous species of sponges also live along this seabed. Coral and sponge communities tend to have high biodiversity and play a key role in maintaining a healthy ocean ecosystem and a complex and diverse food web that many commercial fish species depend upon.

Marine scientists point out that the surface of Mars is much better mapped than the seabed of the Barents Sea, where less than 10% of the sea floor has been mapped and described. A large marine research project (MAREANO) has been set up to map these values, but the Norwegian Government hesitates to fund this marine research. Scientists at the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research suggest that 30-50% of all deep-water coral reefs in Norway have already been destroyed by bottom trawling. Most of these have not yet been discovered or their ecosystem functions described. In 2002, the biggest known deep-water Lophelia coral reef was discovered outside Lofoten, by accident. It is now protected, but nobody knows how many more reefs may be out there.

Lofoten today remains as a living fishing community, but unless action is taken to protect this unique environment, its livelihood and rich cultural traditions are likely to be destroyed in the future.

Read more about deep-water Lophelia reefs >>

Read about the MAREANO-project: www.mareano.no

See what a deep ocean research discovered on the Mid Atlantic Ridge:
www.mar-eco.no/

WWF has prepared an extensive report on the status of the cod: www.panda.org/downloads/marine/codreportmay2004.pdf

Save the Lofoten Islands!

Why Lofoten is so special

Oil companies pressure for access

Increased oil tanker traffic and lack of emergency plans

Over-fishing, factory fishing and bottom trawling

An Integrated Management Plan for Lofoten and Barents Sea: An opportunity that must not be lost