Calanus finmarchicus is a copepod, rich in omega-3 and other nutrients. It could be part of the food security question in a world with increasing conflict and environmental problems, and it could provide a more sustainable feed ingredient for farmed fish, which today often are fed on imported beans and pulses such as soy.
Another benefit of fishing of Calanus, is that its season is largely outside the main other major fisheries such as those for cod, herring, etc. It could provide employment and activity for the whole value chain around the fishing industry at a time of year when capacity exceeds production.
“Coastal fishermen’s negative perceptions of the Calanus fishery was something I was hearing a lot about, both from colleagues and in press and industry publications. Although Norway is generally a high-trust society, I wondered about the role trust in fisheries management might be playing in that conflict,” says SINTEF Research scientist Katherine Crosman, who recently finished a postdoctoral fellowship on trust in big data for ocean decision-making.
So why are Norwegian fishers so reluctant to take on this species?
One reason may be fishers’ low trust in fisheries management, historically seen across many nations and cultures. Despite Norway commonly being defined as a high-trust society, fishers nevertheless remain sceptical about fisheries management.
On top of this come worries specific to fishing for Calanus. The three most common worries, according to a survey of coastal cod and herring fishers conducted by SINTEF and NTNU, are:
- Concerns about the ecosystem effects of fishing the bottom of the food web;
- Concern over the research underpinning Calanus management decisions; and
- Concerns over the bycatch of fish eggs and larvae travelling, with Calanus, in the northward-flowing coastal currents where fishing takes place.
“Although the fear of ecosystem effects may derive from larger concerns, these three worries might also all reflect a single issue: the fear of livelihoods being undermined due to the erosion of cod and herring numbers,” Crosman points out.
To see if a technical solution could be sufficient to address fears about bycatch, survey respondents were presented at random with four possible scenarios:
- Control/business as usual (37 respondents)
- Real-time management with onboard sampling (35 respondents)
- Real-time management using underwater imaging (60 respondents)
- Real-time management using environmental DNA (52 respondents)
Of these four scenarios, only number 3, Real-time management using underwater imaging, had any significant effect on attitudes to Calanus-fishing. This was a positive effect on trust in management, however, overall support for the fishery remained unchanged.
Can Norwegian fishers be persuaded to support Calanus fishing?
“Opposition to the Calanus fishery seems fairly well-entrenched in the sample of fishers we surveyed. There’s some support for the idea that deploying underwater cameras to monitor bycatch potential could increase trust in Calanus management, but this strategy alone seems unlikely to shift the needle much.
“A more holistic approach that meets cod and herring users where they are, taking their concerns over research and the potential for ecosystem effects seriously, as well as using technology to address bycatch, seems likely to be more productive,” Crosman concludes.
Interested to learn more about the survey? Conflict, Cod and Calanus: Can Technology Increase Trust in Fisheries Management of a Contested Fishery?
This aricle was first published in the SFI Harvest Annual Report for 2024.
