Bubbi says generations have lost connection to fishing

Bubbi says generations are growing up with little or no connection to Iceland’s fishing industry or its importance to the nation, mbl.is reports.

He says the movement of people from rural areas to the southwest has also contributed to the divide.

“The quota system was supposed to save the villages, but in my opinion it somehow took the worst possible path in that regard. Regardless of the efficiencies, it permanently damaged rural areas, and they have not recovered,” Bubbi says.

He adds that the changes to Iceland’s fisheries management system have distanced the public from the industry. In the past, almost everyone had some insight into or knowledge of that world, and nearly every family included someone who had worked in the industry or was connected to it.

“Now there is a complete break. Children barely know what this is. They have no idea that there was a rural community closely connected to it: a community of 1,000 people, a good and beautiful community that was self-sufficient,” he says.

Bubbi says the environment has not disappeared completely. Many villages across Iceland still rely on fishing, but the atmosphere is no longer the same.