The balancing act
How Suðurnesjamenn, “the southerners”, harness their inhospitable land and sea, seeking a balance between dare and awe, to provide for themselves and build up prosperous operations, is an inspiring story that our fellows set out to explore in a field trip last week (December 1-7).
The theme during the third week of the six month training was challenges -- the balance between man and nature.
Amongst topics covered in morning seminars were climate change, effects of fishing activities on marine ecosystems, implications of intensive (industrial) aquaculture, post-harvest loss of fish catch and overexploitation of stocks.
As in previous week, the afternoons were mostly used for practicing professional writing, updating statistical skills and exchanging knowledge about fisheries in home countries through public presentations.
During a field trip on Wednesday, the fellows were joined by Ólafur J. Arnbjörnsson, the former principal of the Icelandic College of Fisheries.
Passing through the rugged landscape of Reykjanes, he gave a vivid account of how the fate of the local communities was intrinsically tied to the ups and downs of the fishing industry.
In the bustling fishing town of Sandgerði the group was welcomed by the staff of Ólafur’s old college. Over coffee and kleinur there were lively discussions on the role of access (to resources), resilience and adaptability in development and progress.
It is indeed a testimony of the resilience of the “southerners” how this college, had successfully relocated in a neighbouring municipality, after the home town of Grindavík had to be evacuated because of a series of volcanic eruptions during the past months.
Other places visited in Sandgerði included an artic charr processing plant, a seafood export company and the local fish auction market.
The trip ended at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute in Hafnarfjörður where Amanda Wang, a senior scientist at Firum in the Fareo Islands, shared the story of aquaculture development in the islands, of how the sector overcame a devastating disease outbreak and grew to become a cornerstone of the country's economy.
Over the past two years Firum has been actively involved in running the Sustainable Aquaculture line of specialisation.
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