Recruitment to the Norwegian fishing fleet: storylines, paradoxes, and pragmatism in Norwegian fisheries and recruitment policy

Abstract

The majority of actors in the Norwegian fisheries consider recruitment of fishers to be the main future challenge for the Norwegian fishing fleet. As fleet recruitment is a highly politicized field, the problem of how to mitigate the recruitment problem is a subject of heavy debate. Some argue that recruitment problems are caused by low fleet profitability, while others argue that recruitment problems are caused by fleet restructuring polices. This article aims to explore the recruitment phenomenon. Thus, it examines the relationship between recruitment discourse and recruitment policies and practices. Discourse analysis is used to show how diverging storylines about recruitment result in incoherent recruitment policy. The article concludes that while current recruitment policies are heavily influenced by ideology, the answer to creating more efficient recruitment policies may lie in a more pragmatic approach.