Afskipti Seðlabankans af sjávarlíffræði

Það eru undarlegar umræður í samfélaginu um fjölda mótmælenda sem sækja fundi. Stofnstærðarmat lögreglunnar er minna en mat annarra sem leggja mat á fjöldann. Það virðist vandasamt verk að telja stórar lífverur sem eru ofanjarðar á afmörkuðu svæði þótt þekktar aðferðir til að leggja mat á slíkt séu til.

Það væri e.t.v. ekki úr vegi að lögreglan leitaði á náðir Seðlabankans til að fá úr fjöldanum skorið. Helsti sérfræðingur hans í sjávarlíffræði er enginn annar en Ólafur Klemensson sem sá sig knúinn til að koma á framfæri neðangreindri „leiðréttingu“ við fyrirlestra vel metins vísindamanns, Jóns Kristjánssonar fiskifræðings.

Fyrir þá sem ekki þekkja deili á Jóni er rétt að nefna að hann hefur haldið uppi málefnalegri gagnrýni á líffræðilegar forsendur íslenska fiskveiðistjórnunarkerfisins og verið ráðgjafi Færeyinga og hagsmunasamtaka sjómanna og útvegsmanna á Bretlandseyjum.

19.11.2003 07:03
Icelandic fisheries management has 'overwhelming support' of population Aberdeen, Scotland: A senior economist with the Central Bank of Iceland has told IntraFish that he disagrees strongly with the views which two of his compatriots expressed at a Scottish conference last week.
 
 
Olafur Klemensson said that, whereas Icelandic MP Siggi Thordarsson claimed that the bulk of the Icelandic population is opposed to the current quota system, in fact the system is not unpopular.
 
"The fishery management system in Iceland has overwhelming support in our  Parliament and good support among the general public, although there are debates on if and how to introduce a tax on the resource rent," said Mr Klemensson.
 
He was also scathing of the views expressed at the meeting by independent Icelandic fisheries scientist Jon Kristjansson.
 
"Mr Kristjansson is a highly controversial person, putting forward very debatable opinions, and nobody within the scientific community in Iceland shares his wisdom,"  said the economist.
 
"It is really sad that this person got the opportunity to publicise his policy and very questionable science. Scottish fishermen, in their need for good advice, are not well advised by Mr.Kristjansson. The fishery management policy adopted in Iceland in 1990 is, on the other hand, is as good a system as it gets, as no fishery management  system will ever be optimal and final.
 
"The ITQ (individual transferable quota) system in Iceland is unquestionably far superior to the effort system in the Faeroe Islands."
 
Mr Klemensson also said that Iceland's experience during the Second World War conflicts with Mr Kristjansson's view of the effect the five-year respite from fishing had on Faeroese stocks.
 
"During WW II, the Icelandic harvesting grounds were spared from English and German trawlers, and the level of effort dropped by two thirds. Consequently the cod stock recovered in such a way that the post-war years were the best in cod catch in many years," he said.
 
 
Fiona Cameron, IntraFish

Jafnvel þótt Jón hafi ekki átt upp á pallborðið hjá íslenskum stjórnvöldum hefur hann haft rétt fyrir sér, núverandi stefna um að veiða núna minna til að veiða meira seinna gengur ekki upp enda stangast hún á við viðtekna vistfræði.