RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT AT SEA - CHALLENGES A ND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NORWEGIAN COAST GUARD

In the last couple of years, the question of resource management at se a has become a salient political issue. In the 200-mile zone surroundi ng Spitzbergen, other nations have openly challenged Norway's legal ri ght over this area. Export income from fish and fish-related products reached a level of 19.6 bn. NOK last year. This made fish the second m ost important export item this year, oil products leading. It goes wit hout saying that effective resource management at sea is of uttermost importance to Norway. In this article, the question of effective resou rce management is discussed from the fishermen's point of view. Three critical questions are addressed. Firstly, what kind of general goal i s it reasonable to attribute to fishermen? Secondly, what kind of beha viour is it reasonable to expect from the fishermen in light of their goal? Thirdly, what kind of challenges does the expected behaviour rai se concering the Norwegian Coast Guard's task to prevent illegal behav iour? Here, the fishermen are divided into two broad categories, those that prefer short-term income over long-term resource management, and the ones that prefer long-term resource management over short-term in come. A main conclusion is that this basic distinction does not need t o have dramatic impact of the overall tendency to illegal behaviour. B ut the motivation to do so, could differ.