Oil v fish: a fight for Norway’s soul
Richard Milne, Nordic and Baltic correspondent, visits the stunning Lofoten Islands in northern Norway and finds growing tension between fishermen and environmentalists, and supporters of moves to explore and drill for oil off the islands.
Produced and filmed by Richard Milne. Graphics by Russell Birkett. Edited by Josh de la Mare.
Transcript
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The Lofoten islands are Norway's natural crown jewels. One of the most beautiful places in the world, they draw thousands of tourists at the spectacular coastlines and sheer mountains that seemingly rise out to the sea. But Lofoten, for all its beauty, is the centre of controversy among politicians and businessmen. Because behind me, there are millions of barrels of oil. Oil companies, such as Statoil, want Norway to launch an impact study to see if exploration makes sense in Lofoten. And the question of whether to bring that to the surface has unleashed nothing short of a fight for Norway's soul.
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Lofoten's traditional industry is fishing. Leif Karlsen has been a fisherman for almost 50 years, as have many generations of his family before him. Today he's out setting lines to catch halibut. The 63-year-old is deeply worried about the prospects for oil exploration including seismic tests that he fears could scare away the fish.
To say it simply, it is totally idiotic and completely senseless to start up with oil here in Lofoten. So any kind of oil operation outside Lofoten must never happen. It is not worth the damage to people and nature. So we need to find something else to earn money from in this region. Oil has its place in the world, everyone understands that, but not in this little spot. It must be protected from such things.
It's not just fishermen and oil companies fighting over Lofoten's resources. Tourism, including cruise ships and fish farming are also present, leading some researchers to suggest a wider debate is required.
It's about a very big and complicated conflict of geography as well as a conflict also of values. What should we use this area for? What kind of resources should we as a society use? That's where the source of the polarised debate is because there are emotions in play too. We are talking about values and what Norway should be in the future.
But it's the prospect of drilling for oil in such a picturesque area that exercises most people, with regular protests taking place across the country.
[SPEAKING NORWEGIAN]
Ahead of elections in September, where oil In Lofoten will be a big issue, many politicians run bowed - all the way up to the prime minister.
Well I think it's important for the area because it gives it the other type of job, more highly educated jobs and a different type of infrastructure. And the new type of oil exploration is subsea. That's what we are world champions in in this country. And the area around Lofoten Nordland zone is a very good basis for subsea equipment controlled from land. So there won't be that type of rigs you see on the horizon. I think this is an unnatural division and discussion because I think it's possible for it and our fisheries to work good together.
The opposition on the Lofoten Islands themselves is fierce, but the pull of an industry that's created thousands of jobs elsewhere in the country is strong. Drilling for oil pits the petroleum sector against fishing and tourism. But more than that it sparks a debate about just what kind of country Norway wants to be - One that's dependent on oil for jobs or one that's looking elsewhere for its future.
[SOFT WAVES CRASHING]