Ræða á fundi sjávarútvegsráðherra landa við Norður Atlantshaf 24. júní 2013
Environmental aspects in aquaculture development - Iceland
I wish to use this opportunity to emphasize how sustainable fishing practices have come high on the international agenda in recent years. This has led to intensive debates on which principles should prevail in this respect (what the minimum requirements should be). Iceland has taken an active part in elaborating these rules and standards on the international scene, including within FAO, and we have striven to adapt our national legislation to accord with international agreements on approved fishing practices and the protection of the marine environment.
You may be familiar with the Iceland Responsible Fisheries – a recently established marketing programme designating certified Icelandic responsible fisheries. I am proud to say that this effort was initiated by the seafood industry itself and supported by the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries as a response to increasing market demands for the sustainable utilization of marine resources. This programme, which was built on a joint Statement on Responsible Fisheries from 2007, was designed to inform buyers on how fisheries management is conducted in Iceland and also underlining that controls would be based on the best available scientific knowledge and expertise.
Very importantly, it also states that the Government of Iceland is firmly committed to complying with international laws and agreements regarding access to marine resources and responsible fisheries in general.
Fish farming has not been a major industry in Iceland in the past. Last year, the total production was approximately 7,500 tonnes.
The following species are currently being farmed in Iceland: Arctic charr, salmon, rainbow trout, cod, and Atlantic halibut. Iceland is also a producer of live salmon eggs, which are sold to salmon farms all over the world. The total export value of Icelandic farmed fish is close to 50 million USD. That figure includes the sale of live salmon eggs.
Natural conditions in Iceland are favourable to fish farming. Many places around the country have access to geothermal energy that can be used in the production process, as well as an abundance of good-quality source water suitable for fish farming.
Most of aquaculture production in Iceland has taken place in land-based units. Sea water is pumped into tanks mixed with hot geothermal water to obtain optimum temperature for the fish. Due to increased seawater temperature salmon production is now possible in Iceland in fjords where it was not possible to produce salmon in sea cages due to low seawater temperatures.
The Norwegian company Stolt Seafarm has recently built a new fish farm in Iceland. Plans call for an initial production capacity of 500 tonnes, with a potential to increase it to 2,000 tonnes. The facility will produce Senegalese sole which grows optimally at a relatively high temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius. For its production, the company uses cooling water from a geothermal power station in Reykjanes.
There are already indications that fish farming in Iceland could grow at a rapid pace in the near future, with total production of farmed salmon potentially reaching 40,000 tonnes within a few years. According to rough estimates, up to 100,000 tonnes of salmon could be produced in the regions where salmon farming is currently allowed in Iceland. Fish farming is currently the fastest growing industry in Iceland.
The regulatory environment pertaining to fish farming in sea cages in Iceland is heavily geared toward environmental protection. For example, the distance between two fish farms operating sea cages must in principle be at least 5 kilometres. This is a considerably larger minimum distance than that generally practised in other countries producing farmed salmon.
Although the production of farmed fish in Iceland is still limited, it has attained a high degree of specialisation.
The total world production of Arctic charr is estimated to be 6,500 tonnes, with around 3,500 tonnes being produced in Iceland. The production of Arctic charr is expected to rise considerably over the next few years.
The Arctic charr is the most valuable farmed fish species in Iceland. Iceland is the largest producer of Arctic charr in the world and leading the way. The Arctic charr is the most common and widespread salmonid fish in Iceland and one of the northernmost freshwater fish species.
No antibiotics or other medical products are used in Arctic charr farming in Iceland. Around 90 per cent of all fish feed used in fish farming in Iceland contains a natural colorant – “Panaferd” – which is manufactured by a bacterial fermentation process. The US-based Whole Foods chain, which emphasises the sourcing of naturally produced foods, buys significant amounts of farmed salmon and Arctic charr from Iceland.
For the past 20 years, a breeding programme for Arctic charr has been in operation at Hólar University College. At the beginning of the project, a large number of Arctic charr strains were sampled and then compared in order to select those with the most vigorous growth potential. One could say that this breeding programme is at the root of the success of Arctic charr farming in Iceland.
A company called Stofnfiskur produces live salmon eggs and sells them to fish farms all over the world. Since the eggs are completely disease-free, they are in high demand among fish farming companies world-wide. The production at Stofnfiskur is based on rearing the fish in tanks on land. The sea water used in the tanks is drawn from dedicated wells, a procedure which ensures the purity of the water. Stofnfiskur is the second largest producer of salmon eggs in the world, with an annual production of around 200 million salmon eggs.
Atlantic salmon is a species under threat. Approximately 1/3 of the original salmon population is now extinct and another 1/3 is under threat. Consequently salmon fishery has declined dramatically in the North Atlantic.
There has been decline of the wild Atlantic salmon population. The total catch has dropped from over 8,000 tonnes in 1987 to only about 2,000 tonnes at present.
At the same time the world-wide production of Atlantic salmon has increased and currently stands at around 2 million tonnes, whereof 1.5 million tonnes in the North Atlantic.
In Iceland as elsewhere Atlantic salmon is a highly valued fish species, especially by anglers. Furthermore, salmon fishery is very important for people living in rural areas as a large part of their income is derived from salmon sport fishing.
In Iceland salmon fishing is being carefully managed and monitored. Salmon populations in Iceland have not declined as they have in many other countries.
A genetic database of both natural salmon and strains used in the salmon farming was established by the Institute of Freshwater Fisheries in Iceland. If escapees from salmon farming appear in salmon rivers they can be detected using DNA techniques. This technique also makes it possible to see if escaped farmed salmon are mixing with natural salmon populations. A monitoring programme will soon be in place to monitor potential genetic mixing. This enables the authorities to manage the salmon farming in a way that ensures the protection of natural salmon populations.
To protect natural salmon populations from genetic mixing and the threat of diseases and parasites, salmon farming was banned in 2004 in fjords and bays close to major salmon rivers.
In May of 2004 the Ministry of Agriculture in Reykjavík issued a regulatory measure prohibiting the rearing of salmonids of reared origin in sea-cages in fjords and bays close to major salmon rivers. This ban, which is set in the light of the Precautionary Approach, replaces a regulation set in 2001, which prohibited the rearing of fertile salmon in these same areas
The setting of this regulation limits farming of salmonids in sea-cages in Iceland to limited north coast areas, as well as the Western and Eastern fjords. Iceland was the first nation to introduce a ban of this type.
Iceland aims at increasing the aquaculture production but emphasizes that it has to done in environmental sustainable way.
Ráðherrar NAFMC landanna
