Iceland aquaculture and fishing in 'troubled waters'
Iceland’s aquaculture and fishing industries underwent a difficult time last year, according to a new study.
In a report (titled Icelandic Fisheries in Troubled Seas) published yesterday on Iceland Fisheries Day 2025, the consultancy Deloitte Iceland said both industries suffered either a decline in profits or major setbacks.
Aquaculture is arguably the fastest growing industry in Iceland, but it is not without its problems and 2024 was particularly troubling.
Deloitte Fisheries, an arm of Deloitte, decided to separate aquaculture from fishing because of just how large the fish farming sector has become.
Jónas Gestur Jónasson, an accountant and partner at Deloitte Iceland, said the export value of aquaculture companies had grown significantly in recent years and amounted to 54 billion (£324m) last year.
However, that did not prevent it from becoming a year of setbacks.
Jónasson said: "This 2024 is definitely one of the worst years in history. There is a very big loss.”
One company’s fry farm operation failed, and earthquakes have put land-based fish farming on the Reykjavik Peninsula out of business. The total loss in fish farming amounted to ISK 7 billion (£42m) last year.
According to a Deloitte analysis, the profits of the fishing industry amounted to £192m last year.
That may appear healthy but this represented a significant decrease from the previous year, when profits amounted to ISK 58 billion (£347m).
The database looked at the performance of 112 companies in the fishing sector, which together account for 96% of the catch limit. Lower value pelagic catches were largely to blame.
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