Trawling for triple bottom line results: Applying the fishery performance indicators in the Faroe Islands

Lost benefits from overfishing and economic inefficiency affect fisheries-dependent economies and communities
most, making sound management of the resource vital. There are different approaches to fisheries management.
The wealth-based model argues that in fisheries-dependent economies, the policy objective should be to maximise
resource rent and redistribute the wealth. The welfare model argues that fisheries should function as
poverty alleviation. We hypothesise that in fisheries-dependent developed economies, wealth-based fisheries
management will lead to better triple bottom line outcomes. Both models are used in the Faroe Islands. To test
the hypothesis, three Faroese fisheries are analysed using the Fishery Performance Indicators. The wealth-based
managed fisheries had better triple bottom line outcomes but all three fisheries had very high Community
performance. This is due to the many welfare services provided to Faroese citizens—services that to a large
extent are funded by the wealth generated in the fishery, emphasising the importance of good management.