Iceland farmers seek separate laws for land-based aquaculture

The land-based aquaculture division of the Farmers Association of Iceland has urged the government to prioritise new legislation specifically covering land-based fish farming, mbl.is reports.

In a letter to the prime minister and the minister for industry, the division said major land-based aquaculture projects were under way or being prepared, involving combined investment of 500 billion to 600 billion Icelandic króna.

If the companies’ plans succeed, the sector could generate 150 billion to 200 billion króna in annual export revenues within five to seven years, while increasing tax revenues and creating hundreds of jobs across Iceland, in addition to related employment, the letter said.

Lárus, who was quoted by the newspaper, said land-based aquaculture should be governed by separate legislation because its operations differ in several respects from other forms of fish farming. He also said there was no disagreement over land-based aquaculture in the fish-farming legislation that failed to pass during the previous parliamentary session. The dispute concerned sea-cage farming, he said.

“Land-based aquaculture operates under different conditions from farming at sea. We are not using a limited resource, and animal welfare issues are handled in an entirely different way,” Lárus said.

The minister for industry has announced at the start of the parliamentary session that separate legislation will be introduced for both algae cultivation and ocean farming. The division said it therefore made sense to remove land-based aquaculture from that bill and place it under separate legislation.