Based in the port of Grindavík on Iceland’s south coast, fishing and processing company Vísir has seen a busy 2025 – despite the volcanic turmoil of the last few years that led to the population being evacuated.
Part of Síldarvinnslan, Vísir operates both frozen and saltfish production in Grindavík, which last year had a throughput of 16,700 tonnes of whitefish between them, supplied by the company’s own vessels and others within the wider group, as well as sourcing raw material from auctions.
‘Saltfish production and associated roles has a staff of around sixty. This includes many experiencd staff and there has been very little change in the workforce, despite the eruptions we had to endure,’ said saltfish production manager Sigurður Jónsson.
‘So we have a very steady workforce and are seeing more and more people returning to Grindavík, which is very positive. There were two eruptions in 2025 which resulted in two lost production days. The supply of raw material has been steady and regular, and we even had to cut short the summer break as we had to keep production going. We hope the eruptions are coming to an end and we have good reason to believe things look brights.’
Last year Vísir’s saltfish production handled around 5700 tonnes of cod, 670 tonnes of saithe, 1800 tonnes of ling and 500 tonnes of tusk. Frozen production processes 4700 tonnes of cod, 3100 tonnes of haddock and 240 tonnes of saithe.
The processing plant’s production manager Ómar Enoksson said that he can be satisfied with the roughly 8100-tonne throughput last year.
‘The events didn’t have a great effect on production and we were very rarely short of raw material,’ he said, and added that of the 70-strong workforce, 90% were working there before the town was evacuated.
Vísir’s production is supplied by longliners Páll Jónsson and Sighvatur, as well as coastal longliner Fjölnir and trawler Jóhanna Gísladóttir. Trawlers Vestmannaey and Bergey from the Westman Islands and Gullver from Seyðisfjörður, all of which are part of Síldarvinnslan, also landed to Vísir last year, plus 562 tonnes of raw material were sourced from auctions.
