ICELAND, - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Introduction
Icelanders look to the sea, and always have. Fishing has always been important to
them, and they have a good record of attempting to ensure that their fisheries are
sustainable. As the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries stated in a declaration on 17 th
October 2006, “The Icelandic economy is overwhelmingly dependent on the
utilisation of living marine resources in the ocean around the country. The
sustainability of the utilisation is therefore of central importance for the long-term
well being of the Icelandic people. For this reason, Iceland places great emphasis on
effective management of fisheries and on scientific research on all the components of
the marine ecosystem. At a time when many fish stocks around the world are
declining, or even depleted, Iceland's marine resources are generally in a healthy state,
because of this emphasis. The annual catch quotas for fishing and whaling are based
on recommendations by scientists, who regularly monitor the status of stocks, thus
ensuring that the activity is sustainable.”.
Fisheries account for approximately 40% of the value of Iceland’s exported
goods and exported services, and roughly two-thirds of Iceland's exported goods,
minus services. Fisheries and fish processing account for little under 10% of Iceland’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), down from more than 15% in 1980. With a
population of just over 300,000 in 2007, Iceland is the world’s 178th largest nation,
but in 2002 it was still ranked as the world’s 13th largest fisheries exporter. So
Iceland’s economy is heavily dependent on its fisheries sector (although
“overwhelmingly dependent” seems stretching things).
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