Svalbard’s ‘Snow Crab Row’ as a Challenge to the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union

Abstract

Abstract The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) of the European Union is legally, politically and environmentally of great importance. However, the effectiveness of old regimes to respond to contemporary developments poses several potential challenges to the CFP. This article aims to identify some of these external challenges by highlighting the differing interpretations of the Svalbard Treaty, as well as the introduction of the highly profitable snow crab to the Svalbard Archipelago. In doing so, the invasive nature of snow crabs – whose full impact in the Barents Sea is not yet understood – and their possibly negative effect on other commercial fish stocks will be examined. Additionally, the spatial scope of the Svalbard Treaty, the international rules applicable to the exploitation of snow crabs, and the designation of snow crabs as a sedentary and therefore continental shelf resource, will also be discussed as challenges to the CFP.