Fisheries Are Iceland’s Most Important Export
Herring fishery in Breiðafjörður in 2008 (Credit: F/V Faxi)
Jón Bjarnason, Iceland’s Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture recently gave a speech at the International Professional Inshore and Small Scale Fishers Meeting in Biarritz, France.
He told the attendees that Icelandic sustainable fish catches have been approximately 2 million tonnes annually, accounting for 1.8 to 2.5% of the world total catches.
The annual catches within the Icelandic Exclusive Economic Zone have been approximately 1,450,000 tons and around 500,000 tons beyond the Icelandic Exclusive Economic Zone. The total annual market value of exported Icelandic marine products is approximately $2 billion US dollars.
In 2005 Iceland ranked 14th of the world’s total catches with 1.7 million tonnes or 1.8%. Fishing has been an important activity in Iceland ever since the country was settled and has provided the basis for the country’s progress and economic growth during the past century.
Considering recent events in Iceland, including the melt down of the banking sector, sustainable fisheries have proven to be the fundamental pillar of Iceland’s economy and social structure and will continue to do so for the years to come.
Icelandic fisheries will provide over 40% of all exports value in 2009 and it is the single most important exporting industry in Iceland.
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