Never before have there been more Icelandic-farmed fish

A production record was set in fish farming in Iceland …

A production record was set in fish farming in Iceland last year. More salmon and Senegalese flounder than ever have been produced. mbl.is/Helgi Bjarnason

54,789 tonnes of farmed fish were produced in Iceland last year, which is more than ever before. This is 9.6% more than was produced in 2023. The biggest difference is in salmon, whose production increased by 5,730 tonnes between years, but the largest increase in relative terms was in Senegalese flounder, which was 43% higher in 2024 than the previous year.

“It was anticipated that there would be some increase in salmon farming between years, but no big jump,” says Gísli Jónsson, a specialist veterinarian in fish diseases at the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority. He recalls that the so-called ISA virus had a significant impact on the production volume in the East Fjords in 2023.

“A significant amount of salmon had to be discarded at the end of 2021 and until after 2022 when both Reyðarfjörður and Berufjörður were emptied of fish to prevent further spread of the virus. After a 9-month stop at Búlandstindur in Djúpivogur, slaughtering resumed in early October 2023 and the East Fjords were heavily involved in slaughtering throughout 2024,” he says.

Jónsson says that extensive screenings have been carried out since the virus was first detected and the area monitored, but no signs of it have been seen since the fjords were emptied.

Aquaculture production from 2013 to 2024

Salmon had to be discarded in Tálknafjörður

"In the Westfjords, however, the production of slaughtered salmon was fairly steady throughout last year. On the other hand, a considerable amount of undersized salmon had to be discarded in Tálknafjörður in the fall of 2023 due to an infestation of salmon lice, which put a damper on slaughtering and processing at both Arnarlax and Arctic Sea Farm last year."

27,932 tons of salmon were produced in sea pens in the Westfjords last year, which is just over a fifth less than the amount produced in 2023, when a production record was set in the region.

In the Eastfjords, however, production more than tripled between years, and 17,752 tons were slaughtered from sea pens there last year. This is the largest amount in the Eastfjords ever.

Last year, a record was also set in land-based farming, with 3,569 tonnes of salmon produced last year using this method, an increase of 893 tonnes from 2023. Between 2019 and 2024, land-based salmon production increased by over 117%.

Tons of salmon produced in aquaculture by region

"Land-based farming is slowly but surely gaining momentum, and last year, First Water in Þorlákshöfn has stepped onto the scene and is nipping at the heels of Samherji, which has been a leader in land-based salmon farming for decades," Jónsson says.

Samherji produced around 1,600 tonnes of salmon with its land-based farming, while First Water produced 1,519 tonnes. Jónsson points out that production may increase this year and mentions that later this year, slaughtering can be expected to begin at Laxey in the Westman Islands.

Tons of farmed salmon produced on land

Volcanic eruptions hamper char production

There has been a significant decline in char production between 2023 and 2024, with production falling from 5,248 tonnes to 4,778 tonnes.

Fires and earthquakes in Reykjanes explain much of this development, according to Jónsson, as both Matorka and Samherji operate powerful char farms just west of Grindavík. “In addition, it has been reported that small char farms have had a difficult time and some will undoubtedly cease operations soon.”

The highest rise in 2024 in relative production growth was, as previously mentioned, Senegalese flounder. Production amounted to 558 tonnes last year, compared to 390 tonnes in 2023. Jónsson expects it to continue to grow.

This is a very valuable food fish and it was recently reported that the export value of Senegalese trout increased by 75% between years and was around 1,400 million ISK last year.

Difficult situation for rainbow trout

200 tons of rainbow trout were slaughtered in 2024, which is almost 76% less than the amount produced in 2023.

"It can be expected that production will also be roughly on this level in 2025. The only farming company today is a joint venture between Hábrún (with pens in Skutulsfjörður) and ÍS-47 (with pens in Önundarfjörður). The company has had a hard time setting up a proper hatchery farm, and therefore "recruitment" for further farming has been ongoing. The managers of these companies are planning to switch to salmon in the future," Jónsson says.

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