Þriðjudaginn 29. april nk. fara fram tvær meistaraprófskynningar- og varnir í Háskólasetri Vestfjarða. Nánari upplýsingar um þær eru hér að neðan, auk ágripa á ensku. 

Kynningarnar fara fram í stofu 3 og eru allir velkomir.

[mynd 1 v]
Impacts of area-based management on the population of northern shrimp, Pandalus borealis (Krøyer, 1838), in Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

Anne K. Dupont Andersen

13:00

Leiðbeinandi: Paul E. Renaud

Prófdómari: Guðbjörg Ásta Ólafsdóttir

Abstract

The Svalbard shelf is identified as one of the chief fishing grounds for the Barents Sea shrimp fishery. While Kongsfjorden has been closed to commercial trawling in order to protect the scientific interests of the area, commercial harvesting continues in Isfjorden. In this study, trawl catches and population structure distributions of northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) were analyzed in an investigation into the impacts of the different management strategies of the two fjords. Additionally, potential predation pressure was explored through abundance estimates of shrimp predators at various locations within the fjords. Stomach contents analysis identified the main predators, namely Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) and large polar cod (Boreogadus saida), but there were no significant difference in abundance of these predators between fjords. Mix 3.0 modal analysis of length frequency distributions revealed no clear difference in growth or age at first female maturity between the fjords. However, shrimp in inner Isfjorden, where bottom temperatures are generally lower, exhibited a slight increase in age at female maturity, suggesting reduced growth rates. Generally, there were greater differences in population structure and abundances of both shrimp and predators within the fjords than between them. These results indicate that trawling has no significant effect on the distribution, abundance or population size structure of the shrimp. Instead, heterogeneity in shrimp population structure within each fjord suggested that shrimp utilize different subhabitats at different life stages. Further understanding of such preferences would be useful in the management of the shrimp fishery on the Svalbard shelf.

 

 

[mynd 2 v]Where Are All The Fish? - A Political Ecology Analysis of Local Fish Networks and the Gift Economy in the Westfjords of Iceland

Jennifer Smith

15:00 

Leiðbeinandi: Catherine Chambers

Prófdómari: Helga Ögmundardóttir

Abstract

Local Food Networks (LFN) are re-emerging throughout the industrialized world as a means of counteracting negative effects of the industrialized food system and helping communities increase control over food supply. Given the importance of fisheries to Iceland’s economy and the high frequency of fish consumption among Icelanders, it is important to include fish within the larger study of LFN development in Iceland. However, outside of Iceland’s densely populated capital, there are few market channels for obtaining fresh fish caught locally. This is especially the case in many fishing communities in the Westfjords, Iceland’s most remote and sparsely populated region.

This thesis aimed to determine the ways in which local networks for fish are already in existence in Westfjords fishing communities and the benefits that could result from expanded retail access to local fish. A fish consumption survey, distributed in two case study towns, was used to investigate local residents’ fish consumption habits and preferences, as well as their overall satisfaction with access to fresh fish and cultural identification with fish consumption. Results were interpreted within a political ecology framework, which was used to analyze the ways in which fisheries management policies and internationalized food distribution chains may have affected consumer-level access to local fish resources.

Results indicate that preference for local fish sources and cultural linkages to fish consumption remain high among residents. Fish consumption is largely embedded within a gift economy reliant on personal connections to the fishing industry. Individuals lacking personal connections and access to the commercial outlets (i.e., specialized fish shops and supermarket fish counters) must source their fish from the large-scale structures designed for the globalized food system. It is suggested that fish gifting has developed as a pragmatic means of circumventing these globalized structures, which are not constructed at a scale suitable for LFN development in small communities. Attempts by LFN advocates to expand local fish networks should work with these informal networks, particularly when focused in less populated areas of Iceland.

 

Key words: Local Food Networks, fish consumption, gift economy, political ecology, Iceland