Smábátaútgerð og grásleppukarlar

20
SMALL BOAT FISHERIES AND LUMPFISH FISHERMEN | CREWS OF THE SMALL MOTOR BOATS AND SMALL BOAT FISHERY
Ever since the settlement of
Hafnarfjörður there has been fishing
on small boats in the area. In 1703,
for example, the resident on the
farming estate on the King's land at
Hvaleyri was obliged to pay land
rent to the township in the form of
six braces of 34 to 40 fishes each.
It is also recorded about this estate in the same year that the nearby coastal waters yielded a decent
catch of lumpfish and at low tide it was possible to collect ample shellfish to use as bait, but also that
these resources were being tapped by the owners of other estates in the area. The locals rowed out to
fish all the year round and there were good facilities for landing the catch. It seems clear from this
description of the Hvaleyri land that its principal advantage lay in the opportunity for fishing, and yet the
activities in that sector were rather insignificant as it is stated in a boat registry from the county of
Gullbringusýsla that same year that there was one two-man boat in operation at Hvaleyri all the year
round, another two-man boat that was barely seaworthy and a one-man boat that was not seaworthy.
However, there were positive developments in the fishing industry and this can be seen from the fact that
in the year 1771 there were seven two-man boats in operation during the winter fishing season.