When Danish fishing quotas were made transferable in 2007, many fishermen on north-western Jutland cashed in, sold their boats and whole communities moved on to other ways of making a living.
In the village of Thorup Strand, however, 20 fishermen formed a co-operative, mustered support from a local bank and bought fishing quota for a total of 6 million euros. Making it possible for youngsters as well to enter the trade without taking massive bank loans, the co-operative then rented out quotas to the members.
The future for the fishing community of Thorup Strand looked bright until the global financial crisis brought the local bank to its knees, then broke it. The Government took over the collapsed bank, but only in order to terminate all its activities.
