A group of residents see no option other than to leave Grímsey Island
Considerable dissatisfaction is felt among the residents of Grímsey Island and many of them intend to move away. Four families advertised their houses for sale this week.
They did that after it became clear that the state and the Icelandic Regional Development Institute would not grant an exemption from the processing obligation due to the settlement quotas that fishing companies have been allocated. Some residents believe that this means that it becomes impossible to continue a settlement on the island.
Fishing has been the most important industry in Grímsey Island since the beginning. The fishing there is plentiful, but the island has been inhabited since the settlement of Iceland.
Nothing to do but to leave
The number of inhabitants has generally been around 90 to 100 in recent decades, but their number has decreased in recent years.
At the beginning of the year, the population numbered 57, according to the statistics, but almost half of them have a permanent residence there during the winter, and they are mainly fishermen.
"Now a decision has been made that there will be nothing done to help us, so there is nothing but to just nail the windows down here and get away," says Jóhannes Henningsson, a fisherman in Grímsey, in an interview with mbl.is.
Here you can see Grímsey Island. The settlement is to the west where the island is lower. mbl.is/Sigurður Bogi
No school on the island for five years
In 2009, Grímseyjarrhreppur County merged with Akureyri. School activities on the island stopped in the winter of 2019, and children therefore had to study in Akureyri or Dalvík.
In 2015, the regional development project “Glæðum Grímsey” (Make Grímsey stronger) began. It was part of the project Sensitive Settlements, which is overseen by the Icelandic Regional Development Institute.
Through the project, Glæðum Grímsey, a special regional quota was allocated to the fisheries in Grímsey Island, amounting to more than 400 tons of cod values, which comes on top of the general fishing quota.
There is a requirement that the fish be processed locally, but the residents of Grímsey have been exempted from that obligation for the past six years.
Landed catch is instead transported ashore for processing.
The exemption was not obtained
At the end of August/September, the last quota year expired, as well as the period during which the fisheries were exempted from the processing obligation.
The farms in Grímsey Island applied for a special regional quota again and likewise an exemption from the processing obligation. In August, it was made clear to them that it would be unlikely that the government and the Icelandic Regional Development Institute would be able to comply with their wishes.
This Tuesday, the residents of Grímsey Island were informed that the final result was available, they were not exempt. Four families subsequently advertised their houses for sale.
The state must be looking at buying the properties
Jóhannes Henningsson, a fisherman in Grímsey, is one of those who plan to move away. He believes that the decision of the government and the Icelandic Regional Development Institute to stop granting Grímsey Island an exemption to have to locally process the fish will lead to the end of settlement on the island.
"I just firmly assume that the authorities have started looking at the work of buying up properties here. I can't imagine anything else," he says.
"In any case, it has been made clear to them that this is not suitable for us in any way." That people don't have the capacity for it, these few people who live here."
Are you thinking of moving?
"If this is going to happen, there is no other option. It's not a very complicated example," Henningsson says and continues:
"Everything has been tried. The town of Akureyri has tried to help us come and talk to these people. We have been in endless meetings. Late this summer, this was announced - that there will be changes, according to some amended regulations, that the catch will have to be processed locally. There would be no way around it. Some applications were submitted that needed to be answered in a week or ten days. People were going to start fish processing, but after a closer inspection, it turned out that they didn't want to. It's not realistic."
Doesn't pay at all
Bjarni Magnússon, a fisherman in Grímsey, says that opening a fishery on the island does not cover the costs.
He agrees with Henningsson and says that it is likely that the settlement will die if the decision of the government and the Icelandic Regional Development Institute remains unchanged.
He is not one of those who have put their houses up for sale but says there is uncertainty about the future.
"It doesn't pay anyway to get fish out here just for geographical reasons, the crazy extra cost of freight here back and forth, for example. It's been quite a few years since we stopped processing fish here. This decision will most likely mean that there will be no settlement here very soon."
No joke not inheriting a company
"I and my partner are 25 and 26 years old. We are the youngest couple living here all year round. Now we are looking at having to leave, selling our house, and moving if this happens. This has been what has kept the space alive in recent years," Magnússon says.
"My company has not had this allocation in recent years and this was what was needed to be able to continue here. It's no joke being young, not inheriting a fishing company, and trying this. I started from scratch four years ago. This goes for everyone – the companies will fold if we lose this."