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| All Our Eggs in One Basket. On Egg Sharing Institutions on the North Norwegian Coast |
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Reference |
| Sandberg, Audun: " All Our Eggs in One Basket. On Egg Sharing Institutions on the North Norwegian Coast.", Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA, 1994. |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| This record describes institutions set up for collection and sharing of eggs from nests of seabirds on the cliffs at the seafront of Northern Norway. Earlier this activity was of great importance to the local people. The area was very isolated and had to depend on selfreliance and the eggs has a high nutritional value. Due to modernization, better infra-structure and a more broad economical basis, the economic and nutritional importance of the eggs has decreased drastically, so that today the institution is maintained mainly because of social and cultural purposes but it also has implications for the conservation of bird species. The exampel refered to in this record is taken from the estate "Bleiksgaarden", a community of app. 600 inhabitants. |
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Coverage of the Institution |
| Similar institutions can be found all over the region. The institution is concurrent. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
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SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Rights for egg collection are tied to the property right of a farmstead. in this case Bleiksgaarden, which in 1950 had 156 farmsteads.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Eggs are shared among the estate owner, the skipper who brought the collectors to the site and the people who took part in the collection. As estate owners have to depend on the commoners for collecting the eggs, usually fishermen fishing around the cliffs where the birds reside, these will have a share of the outcome. Egg-collection requires skills for climbing rocks and it requires boats for transporting the collectors to the collection site. |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| Collection is done from May 7. till June 1. The date of stopping collection is important. As most of the birds are able to lay new eggs if the first eggs are taken, this date affects the ability of the birds to have strong chicks before autumn. Within the period collection is only allowed on certain days - normally every fifth day - and all the shareholders should be present at the collection. None can go individually. In the case of Bleiksgaarden, the community is divided into 6 different parts which are of equal status and size. Population growth forced the community to undertake a new practice in 1915. According to this only half of the estate, 3 parts, would collect eggs each year. The other half would then collect the following year. The collection is supervised by the Islet King - an informal leader. The Islet King should know the conditions of the nests: at which altitudes and at what exposure the various nests are fit for harvest. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| After the harvest, the eggs are put in a whole in the ground and the eggsharing can begin. Normally 1/10 of the eggs will go to the estate owner. Then the boat part is taken away - usually 25 eggs are given to the skipper who sailed the collectors to the site. 1/5 of the eggs of the kittiwake bird is given to those young men, who climbed the highest peaks where the kittiwake bird nests. Then eggs are divided in three equal parts, taking a just distribution of eggs of various species of birds into account. The three parts are identified by the name of the original farmer and each collector knows which part he or she has part in. Each of the 3 parts are again divided into 6 parts named after lineages or families. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Not reported. |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| Overfishing in the 1960'es damaged the bird population, as their access to food (fish) decreased. This, among other things, forced the kittiwake birds to seek other habitats, and for a number of years the eggs of kittiwake birds were not collected. Government intervention, and the actions of international environmental institutions and regimes, through classifying certain birdspecies as endangered species, has affected the choice of egg which can be collected. Migration of landlords to the cities, has made the degree of monitoring and controlling the cliffs very low. Thus, the impact of the traditional collecting institutions wither away, and outsiders, mainly tourists in boats, collect freely from the nests, thus threatening the resource. |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| Through the ages the function and meaning of this institution has gone through two major changes. Very early, 800 years ago or more, eggcollction carried religous symbolism and the eggs promised blessings of fertility. In the medieval the nutritional value was emphasized. The area was very isolated and had to depend on selfreliance and the eggs provided animal protein, which was a scarce resource in the springtime. Due to modernization, better infrastructure and a more broad economical basis, the economic and nutritional importance of the eggs has decreased drastically, so that today the institution is maintained mainly because of social and cultural purposes, as it carry heavy symbolic value as an collective act of the local community. |
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Other Features of Institution |
| None. |
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Purpose |
| Sharing of eggs of Seabirds. |
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Country |
| Norway. |
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Region |
| Coastal areas in the northern part of Norway. |
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Date Of Publication |
| TroB 200396 |
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