The apparent conflict of Norwegian pelagic fisheries management and Norwegian seafood council export promotion

Abstract

The Norwegian government operates pelagic fishery management systems designed to avoid overfishing and foster sustainable annual landings while at the same time managing an export promotion program designed to increase foreign sales of herring and mackerel. Simultaneously promoting foreign sales of pelagic fish and limiting the availability of those fish for sale are policies in apparent conflict. This research demonstrates, however, that effective limits on the availability of pelagic fish for export tend to complement the profitenhancing export promotion objectives of the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) for the Norwegian herring and mackerel industries. Assuming highly (but not perfectly) effective limits on herring and mackerel exports arising from their respective fishery management systems over the 2003 to 2018 period of analysis, NSC herring and mackerel export promotion contributed 5-7% to Norwegian herring export revenue and industry profit, respectively and 11-15% to Norwegian mackerel export revenue and industry profit, respectively. Less effective limitation on Norwegian herring and mackerel export supplies would erode the respective industry revenue and profit gains from NSC export promotion. In essence, the NSC effectively exploits the limits on herring and mackerel export availability imposed by Norwegian fishery management systems for the benefit of Norwegian herring and mackerel industries.