Cod & Caribou

Do you know why the Vikings first came to North America?

They didn’t sail to find gold or in pursuit of a passage to India — they were looking for cod. This white fish was a staple for centuries both in Europe and in the New World.

As a result, until recently cod fishing was a huge industry in the North Atlantic.

While the US and Canada did have some (woefully inadequate) restrictions, 12 miles from the coastal baseline, restrictions didn’t apply. In the open sea, any person, or any nation, could trawl the waters, catching cod with impunity.

By 1993, the North Atlantic fish almost completely died out. The population was a mere 1% of historical levels.

Why? No one owned the North Atlantic cod.

In contrast, in the far north of Europe, the Sami people have lived symbiotically with reindeer for thousands of years.

Their diet, at least traditionally, primarily consists of meat — much of it coming from reindeer.

Every year in the spring, Sami herders round up wild reindeer. They check them for diseases and take care of any sick animals. Additionally, herders check the ears for notches.

Any member of the herd without notches gets their ears clipped in a pattern unique to the herder. These notches let other people know the owner of that particular free-roaming reindeer.

Then, when it is time to responsibly harvest the animals, it is clear who the meat and the prized pelt belong to.

This system ensures that the reindeer population is healthy and taken care of.

What’s the difference?

All the reindeer in Finland have an owner. The cod were free game.