THE Faroese prime minister has spoken of the challenges facing his country's fishing industry - the mainstay of the islands' economy.
Premier Kaj Leo Johannesen, was addressing students and lecturers at the University of Iceland recently, said that just over 17 years ago the Faroe Islands suffered a full blown economic collapse brought about by reckless and irresponsible actions in the part of industry and banking in much the same way that Icelandic and other Western economies have been hit.
He said fish products accounted for 97 per cent of the country's export total. 'Few other countries share this level of dependency on marine resources. For the Faroes, safeguarding the marine environment of the North Atlantic and ensuring the sustainable use of its valuable resource is more than a responsibility. It is an absolute necessity.'
While the Faroes were not members of the EU and therefore were not subject to the Common Fisheries Policy, but it was looking for closer co-operation with Europe.
Mr Johannesen said there has been a decline in the market price of many high-end fish products while at the same time catches for expensive fish species such as cod and haddock have fallen sharply. "This has clearly affected our economy, which is characterised by a limited internal market and thus heavily dependent on external trade. But the conditions in the farmed fish industry have recently taken a turn for the better.
He added: 'Fortunately, several of the economic fundamentals in our resource-based industries look healthy and therefore the outlook for the future is not all gloomy. The decline in prices for cod and haddock are likely to bring about a reduction in the catch effort for those species followed by a long-term re-establishment of these fish stocks.'
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