Iceland’s Minister of Fisheries has given the green light to an initiative designed to map the tortuous web of ownership and cross-ownership in the Icelandic fishing industry.
There has been an ongoing debate in Iceland over ownership of fishing companies as the industry continues to consolidate into increasingly few hands, with substantial blocks of fishing rights held by industry heavyweights. The crux of the issue is the concept of linked entities and how these are defined, as some entities are able to hold significant although minority shareholdings in other companies, enabling them to remain beneath the quota ownership threshold.
According to the Ministry, mapping the network of industry management and ownership is a part of the Auðlindin Okkar (Our Resources) initiative, designed to raise the level of transparency in fishing company ownership as well as providing an outline of the development of the government’s policies concerning the regulatory environment around fisheries – and changes to this. A further aspect is ensuring that rules and regulations are followed, and that monitoring bodies are able to carry out their work.
A Ministry representative commented that these bodies have on their own initiative decided to increase the level of co-operation with the intention of providing a clearer overview of management and ownership networks.
The Ministry of Food (of which fisheries is a part) has agreed with the Icelandic Competition Authority on measures to ensure financial space to manoeuvre to investigate management and ownership links. Alongside this, the aim is to develop greater co-operation with other bodies, including the Directorate of Fisheries, the tax authorities and the Central Bank.
The purpose of the initiative is described by the Ministry as to increase transparency in monitoring management and ownership in fisheries by collating data and mapping ownership links between fisheries companies that hold substantial fishing rights and the influence exerted by fishing company owners through the use of voting rights and board positions.
The results of this mapping exercise will be presented in a special report to be delivered to the Ministry not later than 31st December 2023.
