Yearbook 2015
Faroe Islands. During the year, the Faroe Islands and Greenland demanded a renegotiation of the rules for the so-called national community, so that the two islands can decide independently on their fishing policy. They want to increase their catch quotas when climate change warms the world ocean and the fishing hours move north. But the EU and Asian countries also want their share of fishing in the North Atlantic as the polar ice melts.
This year’s hunt and slaughter at gate selection in the Faroe Islands led to protests. The environmental group Sea Shepherd sent several vessels to the Faroese waters to try to prevent the whaling. Denmark responded by stationing two naval vessels in the area. Protest emails in thousands were sent to politicians in the Danish Parliament. Among the correspondents was Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Faroe Islands abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
Later in the year, five Sea Shepherd activists from different countries were sentenced to fines and one and two weeks’ imprisonment respectively for interfering with the Faroese hunting for gate elections. The judges were appealed. In the election to the Danish Parliament in June, the two Faroese mandates went to the Social Democrats and Republicans respectively.
New elections to the Lagting were announced in September. The electoral movement was primarily about fisheries policy, taxes and marriages for homosexuals. The election was a victory for the left-leaning opposition, with the Social Democrats (S) being the largest with 25% of the vote, followed by independence-leaning Republicans with just over 20%.
The sitting bourgeois government lost its majority in the Lagting. The People’s Party and the Union Party both received just under 19% and the Christian Democratic Center Party just over 5%. Progress gained close to 7%. The government was considered to have fallen, among other things, in that it in fisheries policy adhered to a system where private operators sell fishing rights among themselves. The opposition said it was against the property of the Faroese people in private hands. The election was also a victory for the parties that want to free the Faroe Islands from Denmark.
The leader Aksel V. Johannesen became the new team leader for a government with the Social Democrats, Republicans and the Center Party, which together held 17 of the 33 seats.
The new government promised to reform the fisheries policy, provide tax relief to low and middle income earners, hold a referendum on a Faroese constitution, withdraw budget support from Denmark and take control of several social areas from Denmark.
The Faroe Islands’ salmon cultivation and salmon exports again set a record. The company Bakkafrost was the most profitable in the world in the industry and had increased 500% in market value in five years. One of the reasons for the success was the favorable climate conditions in the Atlantic.