Norwegians have greater belief in the fishing industry than oil

Fishing vesselIllustration. Fishing vessel

Several Norwegians believe more in fish than oil as the main industry of the future. “Then we have not done our job,” said Oljenæringa (the oil Industry).

 

In a survey from the University of Bergen, 36% of respondents said that they think fish will be the most important industry in Norway in future, NRK news reported. Only 22% think the oil industry will be most important.

“This shows that the Norwegian people are quite informed, and are about to realise that oil is on its way out,” said Professor Jarl Giske at the University of Bergen.

“If people have more faith in fish than oil, we have not done our job,” said communications director, Timmy Hansen, of the Norwegian oil and gas interest and employer organisation.

“Fish will probably be important for Norway in the future, but oil will be more important for a long time to come. There are no contradictions between these industries, so they do not need to be developed at the expense of each other”, thinks Hansen.

The same survey was conducted two years ago. Then, the majority believed that the oil industry would be most important for Norway in the future. While the belief in fisheries and farming has increased by 10% over the past two years,the belief in oil and gas has decreased by 6%. According to SINTEF, the fishing industry could be worth more than the oil by 2035.

However, Hansen believes that a place in the oil industry is important to society.
“This is competence that will benefit society in future, given the challenges of how we can produce renewable energy,” said Hansen.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today