In this commentary, the crisis that hit Iceland in late 2008 and involved the collapse of the country’s entire banking system is discussed briefly and its impact on regional employment levels is outlined. Currently, unemployment is highest in south-west Iceland, including Reykjavík. Fisheries-dependent communities have performed better, but fisheries management is yet again a major issue in the political arena. We trace the origins of the Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) system and speculate about its role in the series of events that eventually led to the downfall of the banks. Ongoing attempts to reform the fisheries management system are discussed. These include the re-establishment of open-access coastal fishing and the gradual recall of ITQs by the state. Finally, some issues regarding the future of Iceland’s economy are discussed briefly.
Alþingi (2006) Lög um stjórn fiskveiða nr. 116/10. Ágúst 2006. URL (accessed February 2010): http://www.althingi.is/.
2.
Alþingi (2009) Svar sjávarútvegs- og landbúnaðarráðherra við fyrirspurn Sigmundar Ernis Rúnarssonar um fiskveiðikvóta. 138. löggjafarþing 2009–2010. Þskj. 468 –268. mál. URL (accessed January 2010): http://www.althingi.is/altext/138/s/0468.html.
3.
ÁrnasonR (2008) Iceland’s ITQ system creates new wealth. Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development1(2): 35–42.
4.
BenediktssonK (2009) The industrial imperative and second(hand) modernity. In: NysethTVikenA (eds) Place Reinvention: Northern Perspectives. Aldershot: Ashgate, 15–31.
5.
BergmannE (2009) Sense of sovereignty: How national sentiments have influenced Iceland’s European policy. Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla2(5): 203–223.
6.
EythórssonE (2000) A decade of ITQ-management in Icelandic fisheries: Consolidation without consensus. Marine Policy24(6): 483–492.
7.
GylfasonTHolmströmBKorkmanSSöderströmHTVihriäläV (2010) Nordics in Global Crisis: Vulnerability and Resilience. Helsinki: Taloustieto.
8.
HálfdanarsonG (2006) Collective memory, history and national identity. In: EysteinssonÁ (ed.) The Cultural Reconstruction of Places. Reykjavík: University of Iceland Press, 83–100.
9.
Háskólasetur Vestfjarða (2010) Úttekt á framgangi og áhrifum strandveiðanna sumarið 2009. Report for the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture.
10.
HávarðssonS (2009) Útgerðin bar aðeins fjögur prósent heildarskulda2007. Fréttablaðið (Markaðurinn), 2December, 8.
11.
JónsdóttirFBKnútssonÖ (2009) Samrunar á Íslandi 2003–2007. In: HannibalssonI (ed.) Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum X – Hagfræðideild og viðskiptafræðideild. Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands, 127–140.
12.
KarlsdóttirA (2008) Not sure about the shore! Transformation effects of Individual Transferable Quotas on Iceland’s fishing economy and communities. In: LoweMCarothersC (eds) Enclosing the Fisheries: People, Places and Power. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 99–117.
13.
McCayBJ (2008) Introduction: Ethnography and enclosure of the marine commons. In: LoweMECarothersC (eds) Enclosing the Fisheries: People, Places and Power. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 1–12.
14.
MatthíassonT (2001) The Icelandic debate on the case for a fishing fee: A non-technical introduction. Marine Policy25(4): 303–312.
15.
MatthíassonT (2003) Closing the open sea: Development of fishery management in four Icelandic fisheries. Natural Resources Forum27(1): 1–18.
16.
MatthíassonT (2008) Rent collection, rent distribution, and cost recovery: An analysis of Iceland’s ITQ catch fee experiment. Marine Resource Economics23(1): 105–117.
17.
PálssonGHelgasonA (1996) The politics of production: Enclosure, equity and efficiency. In: PálssonGDurrenbergerP (eds) Images of Contemporary Iceland: Everyday Lives and Global Contexts. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 60–84.
18.
PortesRBaldurssonFM (2007). The Internationalisation of Iceland’s Financial Sector. Reykjavik: Iceland Chamber of Commerce. URL (accessed 15 February 2010): http://www.vi.is/files/15921776Vid4WEB.pdf.
