The introduction of market based economic instruments therefore represents a paradigmatic change of the social and productive base. In practice, the intention to include social sustainability in policy reforms is often sacrificed on the expense of economic and ecological objectives. This might partly be caused by a limited understanding of the social complexity in the Nordic fisheries sectors, or because the fundamental relation between the social organisation and the property system have been disregarded inthe policy reforms, subjected to the overarching economic imperative that has aggregate growth and efficiency as its aim. We find that alternatives to large-scale fisheries are still attractive to youngsters if the right policy design allow for the different business models to co-exists. Further, the large-scale fisheries that are promoted by deregulated quota markets risk promoting a form of wage-work that are only temporary attractive (for youngsters or migrant laborers).