Once again the fisheries sector is at the centre of political debate in Iceland. And once again there seems to be more heat than light in the debate. A few days ago, a group of social scientists - myself included - sent a letter to the Prime Minister, asking for a thorough analysis of the social aspects of fisheries management to be undertaken. We think that these important matters have not been adequately addressed. The fisheries management debate takes place under the narrow terms set by economic analysis and legal technicalities. Given that the social questions are never far away whenever these issues are discussed, this narrowness is quite unfortunate. People do not have much research upon which to base their arguments. For example, what have been the real effects of the Individual Transferable Quota system on regional development?  This is an important geographical question that has not been fully answered with research. Nor has existing research about fisheries by social scientists been brought into the discussion. We want to change that.