The Deep Sea Fishing Fleet Volume II

The second volume on the history of the deep-sea fishing fleet covers the years 1960-2006. A new deep-sea fishing emerged in the 1960s. A coastal combination fleet was replaced by a specialized deep-sea fishing fleet, and high-tech boats operated over great distances. At the forefront of the modernization were the skipper shipping companies. The skipper was the owner, or the skipper and bass had great influence with their expertise. A close interaction also emerged between deep-sea fishing, marine and maritime industries, and knowledge was transferred to new industries within offshore and aquaculture.

From the early 1970s, deep-sea fishing was regulated internationally and nationally. This had severely affected many fish stocks, and the fleet had too much capacity. Scarce quotas and restrictions on fishing led deep-sea fishermen to develop new fisheries.

No other region than Møre og Romsdal could demonstrate such a breadth in the exploitation of different fisheries and such interaction with the industrial environment. But at the same time, the environments have become fewer and more geographically concentrated.

The history of the deep-sea fishing fleet in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag is the first fisheries history work in Norway that focuses on the deep-sea fishing fleet. The work has been created through a collaboration between the Aalesund Shipowners' Association, four historians and a political scientist from the university colleges in Volda and Molde, Møreforsking Molde and the local business community, which has supported the work financially.