Building bleeds

It doesn't matter if one or two fall

In the early days of road construction in this country, great emphasis was placed on connecting inhabited areas and eager efforts were made to speed up these constructions. Then, as now, people disagreed on road routes. In one settlement, there was an eager and hard-working man who wanted to take the shortest route through a rocky slope to the next destination. He was warned that this was a dangerous undertaking, and that those working on it would be put in great danger, not to mention that travellers would be at risk on their journeys. "It's alright for one or two to fall if we get the road," was the reply.

This story came back to me when I listened to Logi Einarsson, leader of the Social Democratic Alliance, speaking in the Parliament the other day, discussing the fishing fees. He advocated for raising the resource tax and speeding up so that increased revenues could be brought into the national treasury. His arguments included this assertion: "Isn't it alright if some of the fishing companies go bankrupt and we seek the most efficient operation so that the nation ultimately receives the yield? The main point is that the communities do not bleed."

Communities are bleeding

It is a fact that communities are already starting to bleed. The fishing fees multiplied last year and there are already fishing companies that have given up, with several considering moving. The calculation rule in effect badly affects the current conditions among ground fish companies. The calculation is based on the profitability of fishing companies two years ago, and the fishing fees for this fishing year are therefore linked to the sector's profitability in 2015, which was significantly better than last year's performance. This is due to the strengthening of the currency and the decrease in raw material prices.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises are in serious trouble and it's unclear how many will manage to finish the year. Here, we are not only talking about individual settlements bleeding, but entire regions. Consider the Westfjords. There, only small and medium-sized fishing companies exist. Still, the fishing industry is the primary industry for the region. Therefore, there is a lot at stake. We cannot quickly build up or strengthen other industries to offset the blow that might occur if this support is cut down. Consolidation of companies? Do we want one large company with no connection to the community running the entire fishing industry?

Speed up actions

Fishing companies have not opposed paying a fee for the resource, as they did not protest when things were going well. But the fee needs to be fair and take into account more recent profitability and other operational factors, as was customary with discounts for interest and investments. The nation does not benefit from resource fees if it costs us established companies.

We must speed up actions. The spectrum of fishing companies in the country must not become uniform. It is beneficial for all communities to have strong and diverse companies that follow the heart of the community.

Halla Signý Kristjánsdóttir

Member of Parliament for the Framsókn party in the NW constituency.