Paper short abstract:

Grímsey, an island off the coast of Iceland on the Arctic circle, represents a microcosm of the interplay between local and global change. The Grímsey community is experiencing climatic impacts related to diminishing sea ice, as well the socioeconomic implications of fisheries governance systems.

Paper long abstract:

Research undertaken for the GREENICE project (https://greenice.b.uib.no/) includes a focus on sea-ice and climate changes in the past and present, and places particular emphasis on analyses of the sustainability of coastal communities in northern regions. GREENICE is leading to significant insights into the viability and adaptability of such communities with regard to rapid climatic and other global changes. Biophysical changes linked to climate impacts are closely related to the realities of small-scale fishing in the Arctic. Clearly, such activities are extremely sensitive to changes in climate and the environment. This presentation considers developments in one small community: the Icelandic island of Grímsey. Fishermen from Grímsey are experiencing a variety of direct impacts through daily resource use, and express their concerns; for example, regarding perceived changes in the state of sea conditions. In particular, they link these to diminishing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean north of the island. Sea ice has a calming effect on sea state, and less and receding ice provides a greater fetch for waves to grow in size and power. When interacting with local currents, inshore shallows, and strong winds these can cause conditions that prevent fishing, and also become hazardous for small-boat activitities. The Grímsey community is also in a crisis due to processes whereby local fishing rights are translated into financial assets, with potentially irreversible social impacts. In this case, formerly common property catch rights have been used as collateral for loans taken to buy fish quotas in order to maintain community livelihoods.