Premium of Iceland reapplies for fish processing permit

Premium of Iceland chief executive Gylfi Þór Markússon says the fish processor is applying again for an operating permit after its application was rejected earlier this year. Morgunblaðið reported that the Suðurnes Environmental Health Authority denied the permit because residential development was planned for the area.

Markússon said Reykjanesbær’s mayor, Vilhjálmur Árnason, had acknowledged that the handling of the case did not comply with the law. In September, a decision imposing daily fines of 50,000 Icelandic krona on the company until it stopped operating was upheld.

Markússon said he believed the way forward was to obtain an advisory opinion that could confirm the company’s registration. He said the mayor had indicated that a solution was close, and that he was now waiting for developments.

After the fines were upheld, Premium of Iceland gave 20 employees notice. They are working through their notice periods and may be rehired if the matter is resolved. Markússon expects the fines, which date from the authority’s decision in the spring, to be cancelled if the company’s registration is confirmed.

He said the company had suffered substantially greater losses, including the loss of a planned investment of 300 million krona after investors withdrew. Markússon is also discussing possible compensation claims with a lawyer and said any claim would likely be made against the municipality.