Aquaculture facility in Reyðarfjörður, Iceland.
Photo: Matvælaráðuneytið - Iceland's Ministry of Food.
Iceland's Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, announced yesterday that the country's new aquaculture bill is out and open for information and comments on the government's consultation portal. Interested parties can submit their contributions until January 27, 2026.
In a country where the aquaculture industry is becoming increasingly important to the economy—2024 marked a record year for Iceland's aquaculture export value—but which, at the same time, does not have much support from the population—more than 65% of Icelanders opposed open-net salmon farming in a survey also conducted last year—this was a long-awaited bill.
Presented alongside a draft bill proposing amendments to the Act on Salmon and Trout Fishing, according to Iceland's Department of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries—which, following the change of government last year, is now part of the Ministry of Industries' portfolio— the new aquaculture bill aims to strengthen the legal framework for the sector and counteract negative environmental impacts by introducing incentives, thereby creating a more solid basis for value creation and sustainable growth in the sector in the future.
"Both Icelandic society and companies in aquaculture have long called for a clearer legal framework for the industry. The main emphasis of the draft bills now being presented is to take environmental considerations and animal welfare into account in the future development of aquaculture, for example with regard to incentives for closed cages and sterile salmon and expanded supervisory powers," explained Hanna Katrín Friðriksson.
"At the same time, it is important to simplify public administration and to ensure that fees are aligned with the sector's financial performance and safeguard competitiveness. In this context, I would particularly like to mention that it is proposed to dissolve the Aquaculture Fund and that the amounts that have passed through that fund be paid directly to the municipalities where sea-cage farming is carried out," the Icelandic Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries added.
Currently, municipalities submit their projects, and the Aquaculture Fund Board decides on the allocations. This year, a total of ISK 465 million (EUR 3.2 million - USD 3.6 million) was allocated for fifteen projects in seven municipalities.
Since the establishment of the Fund in 2021, a total of ISK 975 million (EUR 6.4 million - USD 6.9 million) has been allocated to various projects in different municipalities to contribute to their capacity to meet the growing demands of residents and economic activities, in line with the increase in marine aquaculture activity.
As for the possible fee on aquaculture, when referring to "aligned" fees, the proposal is partly reminiscent of the one presented two years ago by the previous government—which lost the election before passing the law—which focused on the use of the country's natural resources and proposed a "reasonable fee" for aquaculture operators.
The Icelandic Department of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries explained that the draft of Iceland's new aquaculture bill provides for a single comprehensive law to apply to all aquaculture activities carried out in the country, i.e., sea-cage farming, land-based farming, offshore aquaculture, and fjord farming.
Among the proposed changes relating to sea-cage farming, the Icelandic government highlighted that these include greater incentives for the use of closed containment systems and sterile salmon, as well as increased monitoring in rivers, which they claim is an important element in improving scientific knowledge and risk-based planning through the introduction of disease-control zones.
Furthermore, as Minister Friðriksson pointed out, it is also proposed to simplify permitting and supervision, among other measures, through a joint operating license issued by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority and the Environment and Energy Agency. Greater emphasis will be placed on electronic supervision by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, and the inspection powers of that institution will be expanded.
In addition, for sea-cage aquaculture, the new bill also proposes an amendment to the provision for the application and implementation of genetic mixing risk assessments.
Regarding land-based aquaculture, Iceland's Department of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries noted that this is specifically addressed in a separate section of the bill, which represents a change from current legislation.
According to the release, the largest part of this chapter focuses on biosecurity and animal health in land-based farming, and seeks to highlight the characteristics that distinguish land-based aquaculture from sea-cage farming, derived from different farming environments and different challenges, both for operators and for the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, which is responsible for supervising the activity.
Finally, the Icelandic government emphasized that, by subsequently proposing a legal framework for offshore aquaculture and fjord farming, Iceland's new aquaculture bill is looking toward the future of aquaculture.
Offshore aquaculture is still in the conceptual stage in Iceland, and therefore, the Icelandic government believes that thorough research is needed to determine whether and where such fish farming can be viable within the country's jurisdiction. The bill establishes a framework for both this research and the permitting process.
Fjord farming is also at an early stage, and as with offshore aquaculture, the bill aims to provide a legal basis for experimental activities in the sector.
It should be noted that in its announcement of the broad outlines of the new aquaculture bill, Iceland's Department of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries made no mention of the Progressive Party's proposal last April asking Parliament to limit foreign ownership of aquaculture companies to 25%.