Economic consequences of a large oil spill for the cod and herring fisheries in Northern Norway

Abstract

The rich and valuable fish stocks of the Northeast Arctic cod and the Norwegian spring-spawning herring spawn in the waters in and around Lofoten and Vesterålen. Seismic data suggests that the same areas contain large deposits of oil and gas. If oil production is initiated in this area it will involve a risk for oil spills. If an accident occurs during the spawning period the large concentrations of hydrocarbons in the seawater can cause lethal damage to the spawning products. The purpose of this thesis is to estimate the economic consequences of such an incident on the fisheries.