Fishing for trouble in the high seas

Scandinavian Review, Spring/Summer 1997 by Olafur Stephensen

Thus the share of high seas fishing in the fisheries sector's income rose from practically nothing at the beginning of the 1990s to $130 million or 14%-15% in 1996. However, the gold rush is most likely over. The loopholes in international waters are closing one by one, partly as a result of the UN's new Convention on straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks. The row with Norway and Russia over the Loophole is now practically the only unsolved fisheries dispute between Iceland and its neighbors. Iceland has added an important post to its economy, but the price has been the loss of its innocence as a nice and peaceful coastal state, which has never bothered anyone.

Olafur Stephensen is on the political staff of Morgunbladid, Iceland's leading daily newspaper.