SFS warns EU membership could move Icelandic fishing jobs abroad

Iceland’s fisheries industry would need safeguards for domestic control of marine resources, fish processing and the economic and social benefits created throughout the value chain before the country could join the European Union, according to a new analysis by an association of fisheries companies, mbl.is reports.

The analysis by Samtök fyrirtækja í sjávarútvegi, or SFS, says the issue is not only where fish is caught, but also where value is created and who benefits from it. The value of Icelandic fisheries depends on an integrated chain of fishing, processing and marketing. Further processing, marketing, technological development and the use of by-products help keep jobs, expertise and value in Iceland.

SFS says EU membership could reduce Iceland’s fishing quotas, open the sector to foreign ownership and alter its competitive position against subsidised fisheries within the EU. A smaller Icelandic share of catches combined with foreign ownership could increase the risk that processing, jobs and value would move abroad.

“Fisheries in Iceland are much more important to the nation’s prosperity than fisheries are in other countries,” SFS chief executive Heiðrún Lind Marteinsdóttir told Morgunblaðið. She said the industry’s importance was clear from its share of goods exports and that fisheries were the backbone of employment and community life in many rural areas. Disrupting the current system could lead to the decline of communities, she said.

According to the analysis, marine products account for about 40 per cent of Iceland’s goods exports. The corresponding figure is about 6 per cent in Norway, the European country with the next-highest share. Fishing jobs account for 1.6 per cent of all employment in Iceland, compared with 0.5 per cent in Croatia, which has the next-highest proportion in Europe.

Iceland also processes a much larger share of its catch than Norway. Processed products account for 88 per cent of exported cod, 84 per cent of saithe and 71 per cent of haddock. The corresponding shares are much lower in Norway, and Norwegian fish creates about 80 per cent more jobs within the EU than in Norway.

EU membership could also transfer control over fisheries management to the EU, including the power to set total catches and allocate fishing quotas. SFS estimates that fisheries companies paid about 90 billion Icelandic krónur in direct taxes in 2025.