DEN TORSKADE POLITIKEN? En kvalitativ studie på hur svenska yrkesfiskare ser på den europeiska fiskeripolitiken och utformningen av den

Abstract

Fisheries is a problem that doesn’t obey national borders and can therefore benefit from being solved between countries instead of within them. Fisheries is a difficult issue for the EU since it touches on issues as economy, culture, environment and social questions. A large part of the previous research has portrayed fisheries as an economic issue, but more recent research has suggested that fishing is as much a social matter as it is an economic one. The common fisheries policy is one of the more questioned policies of the EU, yet there are only a few articles exploring fishermen’s opinions of the CFP. The thesis therefore aims to examine both large- and small-scale fishermen’s opinions on the CFP and the institutional model of it. This is done through qualitative interviews with eight Swedish fishermen in order to establish their opinion on the matters. The results show that both the small-scale and large-scale fishermen have a negative view of the CFP and have low faith in both the EU and Swedish authority’s will and ability to manage fisheries in a suitable and sustainable way but the reasons for their dissatisfaction differ.