“Little kings”: community, change and conflict in Icelandic fisheries

• DOI: 10.1186/s40152-017-0064-6
• Publication Date: 2017-06-06T00:07:14Z
• Authors: Catherine Chambers; Guðrún Helgadóttir; Courtney Carothers
• Keywords: Icelandic; Disadvantage; Equity; Political Ecology

Scholars of political ecology have long been interested in questions access, equity, and power environmental management. This paper explores these domains by examining lived experiences daily realities Iceland's fishing communities, 30 years after the implementation a national privatized Individual Transferrable Quota (ITQ) fisheries management system. Drawing upon ethnographic data collected over 2 rural coastal communities Northwest Iceland, we address three questions; 1) How ITQ system relates to other complex social factors facing today. 2) attempts alleviate negative impacts led new rifts 3) how decision-making few dominant interest groups politics leaves small-boat fishermen at disadvantage. In words our study participants, Icelandic scheme has created "little kings" where each little king acts his own best interest, yet no recourse collective platform influence politics. this volatile situation with cross-scale implications, it is difficult for fishermen, their families, community members imagine ways which access resource can be redistributed.