Vince McDonagh

BY VINCE MCDONAGH

Northern star

Iceland’s fi sh farming saga is on the verge of an exciting new chapter

ANEW force in Atlan� c salmon farming is star� ng to make its presence felt on the world stage: Iceland.

From being a mere bit player only a few years ago, the country is fast moving up the aquaculture ladder.

Iceland’s aquaculture industry took a major step forward last month when Samherji, the country’s largest conven� onal fi shing and seafood processing company, unveiled a £263m plan to build a major land based salmon farm complex on the coast a few miles south of the capital.

This innova� ve project, agreed with the generator HS Orka, will be sited next to a geothermal power plant at Reykjanes which will provide the electricity.

It will eventually produce 40,000 tonnes of salmon, which is 6,000 tonnes more than the en� re country harvested in 2020. Other companies are lining up with their own plans.

There are predic� ons that Iceland’s salmon output could overtake Scotland’s current produc� on total of 204,000 tonnes by 2030.

At the moment the focus on this rugged island of 360,000 people – o� en called the land of ice and fi re – has been about the spectacular erup� on from the Fagradals� all Volcano, not too far from the planned Samherji project site.

But in business circles the talk is about fi sh farming, how far it can go and its impact on the na� onal economy.

Development is s� ll at the jigsaw stage with various pieces coming together, and the full picture is far from complete. The two main fi sh farming regions are at either end of the country – the Wes� jords and the Eas� jords regions, with Samherji’s project somewhat isolated near Reykjavik in the south west. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Aff airs the export value of fi sh farming is likely to double in the next two years to US$322m (£232m) a year – and to con� nue rising.

While trawler-caught cod remains king, farmed salmon was the second highest seafood export earner for Iceland at the start of this year.

According to offi cial fi gures the country saw salmon produc� on in 2020 rise by over 20% to 34,200 tonnes, which does not seem a lot when compared to Norway, Scotland or the Faroe Islands. But it is only a decade ago that Iceland’s

Above: Iceland Fish Farm Left: Samherji computer image of plant Below: New AKVA feed barge Opposite from top: Wes� jords; Þorstein Mar Baldvinsson

salmon harvest barely totalled 1,000 tonnes.

It is no surprise that much of the serious investment is coming from Norway. SalMar owns a majority stake in Icelandic Salmon AS (Arnarlax), while Norway Royal Salmon has taken control of Arc� c Fish. Both companies are planning further signifi cant investment.

Not everyone in the government is happy that such an important industry is largely foreign owned. But tradi� onal Icelandic fi shing companies and private local investors are now showing increased interest.

Last year Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Kristján Þór Júlíusson, confi rmed a “risk assessment” fi gure of 106,500 tonnes of salmon farming in the sea.

That total was increased from a previous assessment volume of 71,000 tonnes, and there may be further room for manoeuvre.

Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, CEO of Samherji said in an interview with the newspaper Fre� abladid earlier this year that, within four or fi ve years, three of the largest seafood companies in turnover terms will be salmon farmers. Most of these, he added, will be Norwegian owned.

He said: “Norway produces about 1.3 million tonnes (of salmon) and is expected to reach 2.5 million tonnes in a decade. The value of Norwegian salmon farming is now at least 20 � mes greater than of all cod caught off the coast of Iceland.”

He was speaking before his company unveiled the Reykjanes power plant project and Iceland ordered a 13% reduc� on in its cod quota due to concerns over stocks

The advantage salmon has over wild caught species, he argues, is the ability to deliver on � me and a guarantee of quality. Unlike trawlers, salmon farms do not have to face the rigours of weather or the uncertainty of fi nding fi sh. weather or the uncertainty of fi nding fi sh. Iceland also has a number of important advantages over its rivals, like Norway. Its farms are less likely to be plagued by biological problems such as lice or infec� ous salmon anaemia (ISA). Very few farmed fi sh escaped into the country’s rivers last year. Iceland is geographically isolated, however, which means expor� ng fi sh by air is usually more expensive. Despite this, it has been forging important trade links with key markets in the United States and the Far East. The Icelandic government’s a� tude towards fi sh farming has, according some cri� cs, been lukewarm in the past. Companies regularly complain about the number of regula� ons and the � me it takes to get a decision. The level of taxa� on is another issue that worries par� cipa� ng companies.

But a� tudes are changing and the launch of Iceland’s new aquaculture dashboard opening the sector to the country at large in April was a sign of that.

The country also boasts some of the fi nest wild salmon fi shing in the northern hemisphere and local sports groups, o� en with large foreign memberships, have consistently opposed aquaculture expansion plans. Some would like to see the industry removed from the country altogether.

But this view is not held by most of those who live in the Wes� jords (64,500 tonnes permi� ed) and Eas� jords (42,000 tonnes permi� ed) where the most of the growth is taking place.

These were once regions with strong fi shing economies that have declined over the years.

Today, these communi� es are being transformed thanks to new jobs and investment from fi sh farming companies. And it is just the beginning.

Arnarlax was recently granted permission to build housing accommoda� on for staff working on the company new projects.

It is es� mated that within a year or two, more than 1,800 people in the Wes� jords will owe their income to aquaculture in one form or another.

To a country like the UK that might not seem a large fi gure but in a region where urban popula� ons are measured in the low thousands it represents a substan� al propor� on of the workforce.

The good news is that aquaculture is a� rac� ng some of Iceland’s youngest and brightest. A few weeks ago ten students from the fi shery technology college in Grindavik graduated from their fi sh farming course.

Teachers at the college say demand for aquaculture courses are growing because the industry off ers good employment prospects and a� rac� ve salaries.

There are some who believe the country could and should have moved faster if it doesn’t want to live in the shadow of its larger rivals.

Iceland may not be in the fi sh farming premier league quite yet, but promo� on beckons. FF

“Iceland has a number of important advantages over its rivals”

World leader in char output

ICELAND is now producing more than 34,000 tonnes of salmon a year, around 85% of all aquaculture produc� on. Just a decade ago salmon output was barely 1,000 tonnes. The country is roughly where the Faroe Islands was in 2010. But it s� ll has a long way to go if it is to equal Scotland’s current annual output of around 204,000 tonnes. Iceland remains the world’s largest producer of another member of the salmon family – Arc� c char, popular with consumers in the United States.

Disease free in 2020

AS Norway con� nues to struggle with diseases such as infec� ous salmon anaemia (ISA), Iceland’s farms reported no new infec� ons last year, and there was only one instance of medicines being used against lice. The country’s veterinary authority said 2020 was, by far, the best year so far when it came to fi sh disease reduc� ons. The seas around Iceland are among the cleanest in the northern hemisphere and this is thought to be one reason for the success.