2. Iceland

Introduction

The fishing industry has been the backbone of the Icelandic economy for the last 150 years, although its importance has waned in recent years. In 2023, fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing together accounted for 6.5% of GDP, and 4.8% of the working population worked in these same industries. Seafood then accounted for 37.6% of all exported goods, and aquaculture for 5.5%, for a combined share of 43.1%.

Although fisheries no longer hold the same national importance as before, fishing and fish processing remain the primary economic activities in most coastal villages and small towns along the Icelandic coastline. Thus, while fisheries accounted for only 1% of economic activity in the capital region in 2017, they accounted for 11-24% in other regions. Fisheries management has been an integral part of rural development policy pursued in the last 50 years, with special measures in place for small, precarious communities.

Primary production

Capture fishery

In 2023, Icelandic landings totalled 1,375,000 tonnes. Pelagic catches amounted to 946,000 tonnes, demersal to 423,000 tonnes, and crustacean catches to almost 6,000 tonnes. Most demersal catches were landed in the capital area, but the distribution was even across all regions. By contrast, almost two-thirds of all pelagic catches were landed in harbours in the Eastfjords, and some 240 thousand tonnes in the south of the country.

Table 2.1: Catches in 2023 by regions. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland

	All	Capital	West	Westfjords	Northwest	Northeast	East	South	Southwest	Abroad
Cod	220,281	28,232	37,704	27,164	28,221	25,196	21,689	28,038	22,996	1,042
Haddock	69,387	10,540	8,548	7,310	9,975	5,237	8,792	12,351	6,597	37
Saithe	42,178	14,326	2,026	2,765	3,412	3,146	4,133	7,965	4,335	71
Redfish	39,122	17,972	3,235	1,795	2,924	2,520	3,176	4,758	2,716	25
Other demersal	51,991	9,373	7,309	6,470	2,463	6,865	4,625	6,010	8,859	11
Demersal total	422,959	80,443	58,822	45,504	46,995	42,964	42,415	591,22	45,503	11,86
Herring	109,770	6,626	2			1,701	44,987	48,086		8,369
Norwegian spring-spawning herring	76,550	539				10,427	48,169	15,277		2,137
Capelin	300,711	2,413	21,309			24,550	155,622	94,733		2,085
Capelin roe	25,038		3,659			2,034	11,790	7,555
Blue whiting	292,858	2	5,745			737	244,445	38,310		3,618
Mackerel	14,1125		1		0	13,905	87,566	35,735	12	3,906
Pelagic total	946,052	9,580	30,716	0	0	53,354	592,579	239,696	12	20,115
Shrimp	2,610	8	44	682	1,876
Scallop	54		54
Iceland cyprine	4		4
Other shellfish	3,097	2	617	413	35		1,821	33	177
Crustaceans total	5,765	10	719	1,095	1,911	0	1,821	33	177	0
All species	1,374,776	90,033	90,257	46,599	48,906	96,318	636,815	298,851	45,692	21,301

In 2023, all blue whiting catches and 83.5% of capelin catches were processed into fishmeal and oil, while 70% of the herring and more than half of the mackerel were processed for human consumption. Most of the catches of other species were processed for human consumption.

Demersal species

For centuries, cod has played a leading role in Icelandic fisheries. Although cod catches have declined, cod remains by far the most valuable species, accounting for around half of demersal catches, both in terms of quantity and value.

In 2019, demersal catches were 500,000 tonnes, but had declined to 420,000 tonnes five years later. Declining cod catches explain most of the decline in demersal catches during 2019–2023. Catches of cod were 273,000 tonnes in 2019 but had fallen to 220,000 tonnes five years later. Harvests of saithe and redfish have also declined, but haddock remained more stable.

Figure 2.1: Icelandic catches of the main demersal species in 2019-2023. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland.

Pelagic species

The pelagic catches, on the other hand, had increased from 530,000 tonnes to 950,000 tonnes in 2019–2023. Capelin, herring, blue whiting, and mackerel are the main pelagic species targeted by Icelandic vessels. Capelin is a short-lived species that is found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. The short life span manifests in significant year-to-year variations in stocks and harvests, leading to years when very low, or even no, catches have been recommended. Changes in the marine environment in the area between Iceland, Eastern Greenland, and Jan Mayen have reduced the spawning stock, further reducing the fishable biomass and harvests. Since 2015, the capelin fishery has been subject to a harvest control rule that aims at maintaining a minimum spawning stock of 114,000 tonnes. The fishery is closed when this condition cannot be statistically fulfilled. The stop-and-go nature of the capelin fishery is evident in Figure 2.2: no quotas were set in 2019 and 2020, and catches in 2021–2023 fluctuated wildly. Catches of the other three species have been more stable. The figures for herring refer to catches from two stocks, the Norwegian spring-spawning herring and the Icelandic summer-spawning herring.

Figure 2.2: Icelandic catches of the main pelagic species in 2019-2023. Tonnes.
Source: Statistics Iceland

Crustaceans

Catches of crustaceans have decreased dramatically over the last decade, amounting to only around 6,000 tonnes. A moratorium is in effect on Norway lobster, with the Icelandic Marine & Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) recommending a zero catch for 2024 and 2025, and scallop catches are presently limited to 40 tonnes per fishing year. Catches of Iceland cyprine that were 1,500–2,500 tonnes per year until a decade ago, are now only a few tonnes. Most inshore shrimp stocks around Iceland are in dire straits, and MFRI has recommended that no catches be allowed. Stocks of deepwater shrimp have also been curtailed, but a quota of 4 500 tonnes was set for the fishing year 2024/2025. The category other shellfish includes several other crustaceans, including various crabs, blue mussel, ocean quahog, common cockle, and sea cucumber, as well as non-crustaceans such as sea urchin and squid.

Figure 2.3: Icelandic catches of the crustaceans in 2019-2023. Tonnes.
Source: Statistics Iceland

Almost all demersal catches have been registered in Icelandic waters in recent years. In 2023, Icelandic vessels also caught 5,000 tonnes of cod in the Norwegian fishing zone, under an agreement between the countries on Icelandic vessels' fishing in the Arctic region. Most of the Icelandic pelagic catches in that same year were recorded in Icelandic waters, but Icelandic vessels also caught 400,000 tonnes in international waters.

Foreign landings

Landings of foreign vessels in Icelandic ports increased sharply in 2022 and 2023 from the previous three years. They amounted to 25–40,000 tonnes in 2019–2021 but were 115–120,000 tonnes in 2022 and 2023. Pelagic species accounted for around 70% of total catches in the first three years, but for around 90% in the last two years. Total landings and the share of pelagic species depend crucially on migrations and distribution of the large pelagic stocks of the Northeast Atlantic. Cod and shrimp make up most of the other landings.

Figure 2.4: Catches by foreign vessels in 2019-2023. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland

Landings abroad

Icelandic vessels sometimes land their catches abroad, especially those engaged in pelagic fisheries. These landings have totalled 20–30,000 tonnes in recent years.

Aquaculture production

Aquaculture is a relatively young industry in Iceland. From the beginning in the 1980s, the emphasis has been on marine salmon farming, but it was only in the last decade that production really took off. Harvesting of salmon was only 300 tonnes in 2008 but had reached 10,000 tonnes by 2017 and was almost 44,000 tonnes in 2023. Icelandic firms have acquired good proficiency in farming Arctic char in land-based facilities, and production in recent years has been around 5,000 tonnes. Farming of rainbow trout has given way in recent years to salmon farming, which is more profitable. There are also ambitious plans for further land-based salmon and trout farming, with production expected to exceed 100,000 tonnes by 2032.

Figure 2.5: Aquaculture production 2019–2023. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland

In 2023, aquaculture production totalled almost 50,000 tonnes, of which 41,000 tonnes were in sea cages, while land-based farms produced almost 9,000 tonnes. Salmon production amounted to 44,000 tonnes, with 41,000 farmed in marine cages and 3 000 on land. Production of Arctic char in cages on land totalled 5,000 tonnes, and 400 tonnes of rainbow trout were farmed in sea-cages. One firm in southwest Iceland produced 400 tonnes of Senegalese sole.

Figure 2.6: Aquaculture production in Iceland in 2023 by regions. Tonnes. Source: MAST.

Regulation and management

The Icelandic Waters ecoregion is located at the junction of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, where water masses of different origins, temperatures, and salinities mix. Most of the stocks in this ecoregion are found within Iceland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). They are thus managed by the Icelandic government, but fisheries of some shared stocks are subject to international negotiations and management through the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) or by agreements with neighbouring coastal states, primarily Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. Other nations that utilise the shared stocks include the UK, the EU, and Russia.

The Ministry of Industries is responsible for the management of Icelandic fisheries and for the implementation of relevant legislation, issuing regulations for commercial licences each fishing year, and determining the total allowable catch (TAC) of each species. The fisheries of shared stocks are sometimes subject to international negotiations and national quotas, but Iceland has also set unilateral quotas. MFRI and ICES have provided fisheries advice to the Icelandic government. MFRI and ICES base their approach on integrating the precautionary approach (PA) to achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Harvest control rules are currently in place for cod, haddock, saithe, ling, tusk, golden redfish, plaice, Atlantic wolffish, Icelandic summer-spawning herring, and capelin.

Since 1991, the Icelandic fisheries have been managed under a comprehensive ITQ system based on TACs and vessel-specific quotas. At first, the system did not include boats smaller than 6 gross registered tonnes (GRT), with a separate effort system for small boats, but since the 2006/2007 fishing season, all vessels have operated under the ITQ system. Currently, there are two kinds of fishing licences in place: a general licence and a hook-and-line licence, which is only open to vessels that are shorter than 15 m and smaller than 30 GRT. Those vessels are only allowed to use hooks or longline. No size restrictions apply to vessels holding general licences, and they can freely choose which gear to employ. In the quota system, a distinction is made between permanent quota share and the annua catch entitlements (ACE). Both quota shares and ACEs are transferable and divisible, but quota shares cannot be transferred from a vessel holding a general licence to a hook-and-line vessel. Since 2009, an open-access coastal demersal (mainly cod) fishery with a total catch cap has been in place during the months May–August. The fishery is open for all seaworthy boats, but handline is the only permitted gear.

Vessels registered in Iceland and fishing under the Icelandic management system are subject to a fishing fee, which is designed as a resource rent charge on landed catch. The fee is calculated as kilogram of live weight catches and differs by species. The fees are generally based on catch and price data, but with two important exceptions: the value for cod and haddock is based on Icelandic fish-market prices, and prices from the Norwegian Fisheries Agency are used to determine the fees for Norwegian herring, mackerel, and blue whiting.

In 2024, ICES analytically assessed the most important stocks in the Iceland ecoregion and evaluated them against harvest rate, MSY, and PA reference points (MFRI, 2024). As shown in Table 2.2, fishing pressure and stock size were both estimated relative to MSY or management/harvest control rule (MGT). Green represents a stock with fishing mortality below the recommended limits and a size greater than the bounds set by the policy followed. Red represents a stock that was fished above those limits or whose stock was below those limits.

For most of the species, the mean spawning stock biomass (SSB) was above the β_trigger, which is a biomass reference point that triggers a cautious response, but below that level for beaked redfish, deep pelagic beaked redfish, Greenland halibut, and Norwegian spring-spawning herring. Eight stocks in the ecoregion have current fishing mortality rates above scientific limits: haddock, ling, Icelandic slope beaked redfish, deep pelagic beaked redfish, Greenland halibut, Norwegian spring-spawning herring, mackerel, and blue whiting.

Table 2.2: Status of the most important stocks in Icelandic waters. Source: MFRI

Stock description	Fishing pressure		Stock size
Stock description	MSY/MGT	PA	MSY/MGT	PA
Demersal
Cod in Division 5.a
Haddock in Division 5.a
Saithe in Division 5.a
Atlantic wolffish in Division 5.a
Golden redfish in subareas 5, 6, 12, and 14
Ling in Division 5.a
Tusk in Subarea 14 and Division 5.a
Greenland halibut in subareas 5, 6, 12, and 14
Greater silver smelt in Subarea 14 and Division 5.a
Plaice in Division 5.a
Beaked redfish in ICES subareas 5, 12, and 14 (deep pelagic stock)
Beaked redfish in ICES subareas 5, 12, and 14 (shallow pelagic stock)
Beaked redfish in ICES Division 5a and Subarea 14 (Icelandic slope stock)
Blue ling in Subarea 14 and Division 5.a
Pelagic
Blue whiting in subareas 1–9, 12, and 14
Capelin in subareas 5 and 14 and Division 2.a west of 5°W
Herring in Division 5.a, summer-spawning herring
Norwegian spring-spawning herring in subareas 1, 2, and 5, and in divisions 4.a and 14.a
Mackerel in subareas 1–8 and 14, and in Division 9.a

High

Middle

Low

There are no important stocks in the Icelandic ecoregion that are currently underutilised, but some stocks are depressed. Since 2012, there has been a landing ban on Atlantic halibut and mandatory release of viable halibut, and the biomass of spotted wolffish is also very low. Both these species are registered as bycatch. Stocks of invertebrates have shown a declining trend in biomass. Five of the eight inshore shrimp stocks have collapsed to an alarmingly low level, and the offshore northern shrimp stock has decreased by half since the mid-1980s. No commercial fishery is now allowed for Norway lobster, and the Iceland scallop stock collapsed in the early 2000s; no fishing is now permitted.

Marine aquaculture in Iceland is permitted only in designated zones in the Westfjords and Eastfjords. MFRI sets fjord-level carrying capacity and genetic-risk limits, which determine the maximum number of fertile salmon that is allowed in cages in each fjord. Sea-cage farms must hold an operating license and fish health approval from the Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST), and an environmental operating permit from the Environment and Energy Agency (UST).

Foreigners may invest in Icelandic aquaculture; indeed, Norwegian firms hold majority ownership in three of the four largest marine aquaculture firms.

Marine aquacultural firms pay harbour fees, and environmental fees, in addition to a harvest (resource) fee of 0.5–4.3%, depending on international sales prices of Atlantic salmon. The harvest fees of rainbow trout are half those of salmon.

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Processing and Value Chain Overview: Iceland

The fisheries sector in Iceland is characterised by large, vertically integrated firms that operate vessels, as well as land-based processing facilities and sales and marketing units, which are often based both in Iceland and abroad. The firms may operate fresh-fish trawlers, freezing trawlers, and longliners. They usually hold quotas in many demersal species, which enables them to take advantage of the flexibility inherent in the Icelandic management system and adjust their catches to the needs of their processing plants. Processing is often quite specialised, and fish of the “wrong” size and species may be offloaded to the country's wet fish markets, from which the firms may also source additional raw material. Most large firms also hold pelagic quotas and processing facilities for those harvests.

The value chain in Icelandic fisheries can be illustrated using the cod value chain in figure 2.7 (Knutsson et al., 2016). Harvesting is the first step in the chain, with catches either sold on domestic fish markets or processed. Fish sold in the market is then processed in Iceland or abroad and exported through the marketing divisions' services. The exported fish may be sold on foreign fish markets, processed, or sold directly to wholesalers, and even directly to retailers or firms in the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, canteens). Some of the fish sold on foreign markets or exported unprocessed will be further processed in facilities abroad and then sold to wholesalers, retailers, or hospitality firms.

Table 2.3: Fish processing by type and regions in 2023. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland.

	Capital region	West	West-fjords	North-west	North-east	East	South	South-west
Other	590	214	217	0	1,719	624	3,230	640
Processed for container export	5,823	0	0	0	0	0	0	618
Filleting	2,790	0	34	0	934	3,408	1,067	1
Salted	1,707	12,191	604	117	3,364	247	755	17,099
Fresh, exported in containers	26,391	1,259	0	0	71	1,650	2,712	630
Fresh, iced fish exported by air	21,471	7,701	7,250	0	19,972	0	7,182	16,352
Freezing	38,858	9,908	14,475	11,376	61,786	149,824	111,680	23,350
Total	97,630	31,273	22,580	11,493	87,846	155,753	126,626	58,690

In 2023, a total of 924 harvesters (firms and individuals) paid ISK 10.1 billion (€ 68 million) in fishing fees. In addition, some operators may not have paid any fishing fees. Landings in that same year were registered in 57 harbours.

Around 200 firms are engaged in seafood production, and processing occurs at 58 locations. In many cases, processing is part of a vertically integrated firm. The concentration in the processing industry has been especially pronounced in the production of fishmeal and fish oil. In 2023, reduction took place in 14 locations, almost all in the east and south of Iceland.

It is difficult to ascertain the production capacity of the Icelandic processing sector. One of Iceland’s largest firms, Samherji, opened a new state-of-the-art processing facility in Dalvík, northern Iceland, in 2020, where it produces chilled and individually quick-frozen cod and haddock products. The processing plant has a capacity of 12 tonnes per hour and was set up to process 15–18 thousand tonnes per year (Sjálfvirkni, 2020). Samherji has another processing plant in Akureyri with a similar capacity, and in 2024, the two plants together processed more than 36 thousand tonnes. Another large firm, Síldarvinnslan, operates a processing plant in Neskaupstaður, eastern Iceland, that produces up to 700 tonnes of frozen pelagic products per 24 hours (Vinnsla, n.d.). In 2025, there were 10 large reduction plants in operation in Iceland with a combined capacity of 11,500 tonnes per 24 hours (Sindri B. Sigurðsson, 2025).

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Trade flows of Aquatic food: Iceland

Imports for human consumption

Iceland imported 74,500 tonnes (live weight) of seafood for human consumption in 2023. Two-thirds of the fresh and frozen fish were imported from Greenland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands. The most important products were fresh, whole ling from Greenland, which accounted for 18,400 tonnes of the 55,000 tonnes imported from the Nordic countries, and 7,500 tonnes of fresh, whole capelin and 8,000 tonnes of frozen shrimp, which were imported from Norway.

	Nordic	Other	Total
Fresh, frozen, salted, dried	55,072	18,831	73,903
Seaweed and other algae	22	1	23
Prepared or preserved	118	511	629
Total	55,212	19,343	74,556

Table 2.4: Imports of seafood for human consumption in 2023. Tonnes (live weight). Source: Statistics Iceland

Imports of Marine Ingredients and Feed

Iceland imported 54,600 tonnes of fish for reduction, with nearly all coming from the Nordic countries, probably to a considerable degree from vessels from the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Norway, which landed that year 108,500 tonnes of fish in Icelandic ports. The catch was almost entirely made up of capelin and blue whiting, which were processed into fish oil and meal.

Iceland also imported 10,000 tonnes of fish oil, with only a couple of hundred tonnes originating from the Nordic countries. In addition, Iceland imported 128,500 tonnes of fishmeal, of which 102,000 tonnes were from the Nordic countries.

	Nordic	Other	Total
Fish for reduction, waste	54,598	41	54,639
Fish oil	179	9,809	9,988
Fishmeal	101,768	26,782	128,550
Total	156,545	36,632	193,176

Table 2.5: Imports of fish for feed or feed in 2023. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland

Exports for human consumption

Exports of fresh, frozen, salted, and dried products totalled 723 400 tonnes (live weight), of which buyers in the other Nordic countries purchased 42,000 tonnes. Exports of other products intended for human consumption included 13,500 tonnes of prepared or preserved fish and crustaceans, of which 3,400 tonnes were exported to Nordic countries, and 4,700 tonnes of seaweed and other algae for use in, for instance, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

	Nordic	Other	Total
Fresh, frozen, salted, dried	42,211	681,154	723,365
Seaweed and other algae	3,530	1,181	4,711
Prepared or preserved	3,377	10,147	13,524
Total	49,119	692,482	741,601

Table 2.6: Exports of seafood for human consumption in 2023. Tonnes (live weight). Source: Statistics Iceland.

From figure 2.8 we see that the largest share of the fish, not reduced to fishmeal and oil, is exported whole, either chilled or frozen. In 2023, this amounted to 280,700 tonnes, with chilled, frozen, or lightly salted fillets making up 366,100 tonnes. Salted and dried products totalled 36,000 tonnes, with other products making up 40,000 of the 723,365 tonnes exported in that year.

Figure 2.8: Icelandic exports of seafood by product groups in 2023. Fishmeal and oil excluded. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland.

Exports of Marine Ingredients and Feed

Iceland exported 145,600 tonnes of fishmeal, 50 000 tonnes of fish oil, and 31,500 tonnes of other products. About two-thirds of the fishmeal was exported to Nordic buyers, and 33,000 tonnes of fish oil. Although the Nordic countries are therefore in general not a large market for Icelandic seafood, much of the fish meal and oil was exported to Norway and Denmark.

	Official statistics
	Nordic	Other	Total
Fish for reduction, waste	1,151	30,395	31,546
Fish oil	32,704	17,202	49,906
Fishmeal	94,231	51,321	145,553
Total	128,087	98,918	227,005

Table 2.7: Exports of fish for feed or feed in 2023. Tonnes. Source: Statistics Iceland.

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Aquatic food available for consumption in Iceland

In 2023, total Icelandic catches for human consumption amounted to 712,400 tonnes. Catches of the main pelagic species have been weighted with the percentage processed for reduction. Aquaculture production totalled 49,900 tonnes and imports 74,500 tonnes. The total was therefore 836,900 tonnes. Subtracting total exports, there were 95,300 tonnes available for the population of 380 thousand living in Iceland at that time. This is about 248 kg per capita per year.

	Tonnes	kg/capita/year
Capture fishery	712,425	1,857
Aquaculture	49,945	130
Imports	74,556	194
Total supply	836,926	2,181
Exports	741,601	1,933
Available for consumption	95,325	248

Table 2.8: Total amount of seafood available for consumption in Iceland in 2023. Tonnes (live weight).

In that same year, there were 855 500 tonnes fish available for feed and fish meal, or 2,230 kg. per capita. Taking exports into account, the amount available for consumption amounted to 628,500 kg, or 1,638 kg per capita.

	Tonnes	kg/capita/year
Capture fisheries	662,351	1,726
Imports	193,176	503
Total supply	855,527	2,230
Exports	227,005	592
Available for consumption	628,522	1,638

Table 2.9: Total amount of seafood available as feed in Iceland in 2023. Tonnes

Challenges, threats, and opportunities

Over the last fifty years, the Icelandic fisheries have evolved into a highly efficient industry that competes in markets worldwide, and the aquaculture sector is likely to follow in its cousins’ footsteps and establish a strong position in international markets. However, both sectors face environmental, economic, and political challenges and threats that can affect their competitiveness.

Warmer ocean temperatures have, in recent years, changed the distribution and fishing areas of some important demersal species, such as haddock, golden redfish, ling, monkfish, and lemon sole. Migration patterns have also changed for large Northeast Atlantic pelagic stocks such as blue whiting, Norwegian herring, and mackerel, and capelin now feeds further north in summer (MFRI 2024). Further rises in temperature could shift the distribution of some important species, such as capelin and haddock, further north, with serious repercussions.

Norwegian herring, mackerel, and blue whiting stocks are all exploited by the coastal states in the Northeast Atlantic, as well as the EU. Total catches have regularly exceeded ICES recommendations because all the nations involved have been unable to reach agreement on total catches, quota allocations, and access to each other’s EEZs. This overfishing has both reduced the long-term viability of the stocks and prompted MSC to revoke its certification.

Recent developments in international trade have seen increasing tariffs and trade restrictions as countries have reverted more towards protectionism. This can have dire consequences for small fishing countries like Iceland, which rely on open international markets.

Fish processing in Iceland faces intense competition from firms in low-wage countries in Europe, many of which are EU members (Friðbertsson, 2025). The large, vertically integrated firms that dominate Icelandic fisheries operate modern, well-equipped processing plants that enable them to exploit economies of scale, but this option may not be feasible for smaller firms. There is considerable risk that exports of unprocessed catches will increase, which could both reduce the number of processors in Iceland and reduce the quantity of raw material available for the larger firms.

As expected, consolidation has increased in the Icelandic fisheries since the introduction of the ITQ system. Profits have risen, and many have gained from selling their quotas. These developments have caused considerable resentment. Although fishing fees and coastal fishing have been introduced, the main characteristics of the ITQ system have remained the same, but the fishing industry has learned that it must tread cautiously under this uncertain political environment.

Iceland offers excellent angling for salmon and trout, and although marine aquaculture has been permitted only in fjords with no major fishing rivers, some lesser rivers are not far from some of the sea-cage sites. Angling stakeholders have strongly opposed the recent expansion of aquaculture, primarily due to the risks of genetic mixing and escapees, and have also voiced broader environmental and ethical concerns (Icelandic Wildlife Fund, n.d.).

The aquaculture industry has noted that the Icelandic tax model can become a heavy burden because it is levied on revenue rather than profits, and that it is unpredictable because the harvest tax is a function of global rather than firm-level prices (Grønvik et al., 2024).

While few opportunities exist to further utilize the fish stocks currently harvested in Icelandic waters, some possibilities may emerge for exploiting mesopelagic species. Emerging species, such as bluefin tuna, may also create certain opportunities. In the processing industry, some avenues remain for increasing value through modernization and innovation. Further growth in marine aquaculture is also on the cards, and substantial investment plans are in place for land-based aquaculture.

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