Abstract
The Arctic is changing. Although maritime conditions vary across this vast region, increased activity from state and non-state actors alike are challenging the littoral northern states. This chapter takes a look at the changes occurring in the Arctic, specifically focusing on the contrasts between the North American and European Arctic regions, using Greenland, Canada and Norway as examples. The overall trend has been that the number of maritime vessels has increased steadily since the 1990s, while vessel activity is becoming more complex, diverse, and spread-out. The end of this chapter turns to the need for coast guard tasks and what these entails.
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Notes
- 1.
This also entails snow crab fisheries, which has been increasing in recent years (Østhagen and Raspotnik 2019). The crabs have been moving westwards into the waters surrounding Svalbard and have started to constitute a considerable resource.
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Østhagen, A. (2020). Maritime Tasks and Challenges in the Arctic. In: Coast Guards and Ocean Politics in the Arctic. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0754-0_3
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