There are very few “fisherwomen” - it is a trade dominated by men. Nina only knows three women amongst about 500 fishermen. She has herself never been out in a fishing boat, although she lived out here almost all her life. Most women work in the fish processing plants, as does Nina. It is generally more difficult for women to find jobs out here, which leads to that more women than men leave the island. Nina smiles at our question about the possibilities of finding a partner out here – you’ve known most people all your life. Nina met her husband in Bodø where she lived for while. He moved back with her to the island.

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Let the oil be where it is

Ole Berglund from Ballstad, skipper of the Ole Inge.

The fisherman Ole Berglund sets lines with his wife on the middle-sized boat Ole Inge. Since the Barents cod has not migrated into the West fjord as it usually does, the couple went out to Røst to fish. Before Easter there was almost 600 small and middle-sized boats from all over the country out here. By now most of them went home or continued to the spring fishing further north near Finnmark. When the weather is as rough as the day we meet Ole and his wife they have to stay in port.

- I am very sceptic to oil drilling. You take it up, and then there is none left. If we would have an accident… you know, they always say its safe, but it isn’t, and they can’t guarantee 110% that nothing will go wrong. The oil leak right now in the Barents shows that this thing with zero emission is only a theory that doesn’t hold in reality. If it goes wrong, be it here in Lofoten or in the Barents sea, which are spawning grounds for fish, it is not good.

People in the labour organisation up here only argue for oil, and forget how many members they actually have in the fishing community, and how important this trade is for the area. Jus look at what happened in Sandnessjøen, how many jobs did they get? Only a few, after the municipality put in millions! But think about the outcome of the fishery here in Lofoten! Many times greater than oil will ever be able to create up here. Who takes this into account?

- We must leave the oil where it is. The country grows poorer the more we pump. Before you could afford everything, now, with billions in the wallet, you can’t afford anything. The oil should stay where it is. And it wont be worth less if you wait a few generations before you bring it up. If we do manage the fishery in a good way, it will create a lot of work opportunities.

Berglund also agrees that the idea of a ”fishing fleet” against the oilrig Eirik Raude sounds like a good idea, if the e rig comes up here again after its emissions in the Barents Sea last winter. If that happens he is not reluctant to participate – the oil should be left where it is.

Lacking safety along the coast

- I’ve said it before and I am saying it again: we have no capacity for oil disasters in this country. Just look at the Fjord Champion that had problems at Sørlandet, it went straight into the coastline before a tugboat arrived. Here it is even worse: the shipping lanes are placed right inside the 12 nautical mile limit, straight through the fishing grounds, instead of further out on the open sea.

- We think that the tanker traffic should be moved 40-50 nautical miles off the coast. The tugboats will have time to give assistance if needed, in time before there is an accident.

Berglund also raises criticism against the fact that the coast guard vessels focus on inspecting ”old fishermen getting some salmon inside the fjords ” instead of concentrating on the more important and serious over fishing in the Barents Sea.

Fisheries minister Ludvigsen and the interests of the big fishing companies

Soon there will be only a few people who own the rights to fish in Norway. This is a dangerous development. All fishermen should have the right to fish, then it should be up to them to decide if it is profitable or not.

- Some have already sold their whole quota or parts of it. It is almost impossible to follow. If I die, the quota is withdrawn. Not even my wife can take over, the Government takes it. The fisheries minister gives out the new ”eternal fishing rights” to the shipping companies, and then it doesn’t matter if someone dies. That’s the difference!

- Ludvigsen only look after the interests of the big shipping companies, and the same goes for the Norwegian Fishermens Union. There is a battle between the coastal fishermen and the big ship owners within the Union. We should all be treated the same way, but we are not.

- A lot of strange things are happening with structures, buying, selling etc. If you want to buy in you need the resources, it is all about money and speculation. That Ludvigsen is so arrogant you develop malaria!

- The trawler fleet was supposed to complement the coastal fleet, but that’s not how it works anymore. The factory trawlers are an even bigger problem, since they don’t even deliver ashore – they don’t bring anything back to the coastal communities! The original plan was for them to fish in foreign waters … as if it would be better to steal someone else’s fish at a far away place.

- In addition there are trawlers so big - double and triple trawls - with that gear you can empty the Barents Sea… spawning grounds for small fish should be closed for fishing altogether, also for the coastal fishing fleet. If you ruin what is growing, you don’t get much back!

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Do they think we live out here only for the money?
Øystein Røymo from Røst, skipper of the Røstværing

Øystein Røymo is a fisherman from Røst with strong opinions. This year they finished their quota already before easter, and the Røstværing with its crew of three people has been alongside ever since.

- There is not an awful lot of cod to work with. This year we’ve had only a third of the quota we used to have. The quotas have been transferred to bigger vessels. We used to have a crew of five men, now we are three and should be only two men to have a reasonable income. The fishing rights have been relocated to bigger boats. Now the Government offers to buy them back, I can’t see the logic behind this, but perhaps the bureaucrats do?

- There is less cod every year. We are convinced that the fishing pressure is to blame. This year we had some bigger fish, but that is probably because we got a lot of coastal cod this winter. [Editor: scientists claim that the coastal cod is threatened. When the Barents cod doesn’t go into the west fjord, like this year, fishing on local coastal cod increases.]

It is obvious that the fishing pressure is too high. In addition we know that the Russians take up to 150-200 000 tonnes over their allocated quotas. In total this is far above the scientific advice, and makes the prize of cod lower on the market.

People live along this coast because fishing has been free and we have been able to establish freely. Now all of a sudden these old rights are sold to the highest bidder.

What do you think of the plans for oil drilling in Lofoten?

- It would be dreadful if they start drilling for oil. There is enough in the world. We can wait for a lot of years. We have to be clear that all the important species of fish spawn in this area. It would be devastating. No, I am completely against oil drilling in this area!

- Tanker traffic is another matter. We have fought for many years within the Fishermens Union to move the shipments further out to have a chance to prevent disasters from happening. We have demanded that all oil tanker traffic should be at 30, preferably 40 nautical miles off the coast. We fail to understand why the Norwegian authorities can’t put the pressure on to move these tankers further out, we just can’t understand.

- We don’t trust that the readiness for dealing with oil accidents and the tugboat capacity is good enough. We also feel that all those who have guarded the coast are disappearing: the lighthouse keepers disappear and the smaller coast guard vessels are sold or scrapped. The coast guard only have a few big ships. It goes without saying that the capacity is far from enough.

Have you been consulted in the Government planning process for Lofoten and the Barents Sea?

- No, we haven’t been asked about anything, it’s as iF we weren’t really a part of society, we keep getting run over. Money rules, and often we don’t know about the plans before they are already decided upon.

The authorities should know that people don’t live up here by the coast only for the money. We live here because we like living here, having work right outside our doorstep and don’t have to work on the clock. That’s why we live here. Otherwise we wouldn’t. Many politicians and bureaucrats don’t understand that.