The fishing industry in Iceland is by far the most important industry in Iceland followed by the aluminum and tourism industry. Fish and fish products constitutes about 70% of Iceland’s exported goods. Main fish being exported include cod, haddock, saithe, redfish, herring and capelin, which as all mainly exported to the UK, Germany, USA, Norway, Spain, Holland depending on the fish and product.

 

The waters around Iceland are rich and diverse with marine life. This is because the deep cold Greenland and Icelandic nutrient (nutrients like nitrate and phosphate) rich ocean currents come to the surface and mix with the warmer Irminger current at the continental shelf. This makes the nutrients available to the Phytoplankton (plants of the sea and basis of the food chain) which are found in the top couple of meters of the water column where the light penetrates and they can photosynthesis (gain energy from the sun). This is then food for the zooplankton (small animals like the larval forms of crabs, lobsters, sea urchins and small crustaceans called copepods), which is eaten by small fish (capelin, herring, sandeels), than larger fish.

 

The fishing grounds in Icelandic waters are known to be some of the most fertile in the world and Faxaflói bay is no exception of that. Both territorial and migratory stocks are found in Faxaflói and as a result a wide variety of species can be caught on our tours.