The number of fishing vessels registered at the Icelandic Maritime Administration at year-end 2007 totalled 1,642, falling by 50 from the previous year. There were 834 decked vessels, 744 open boats and 64 trawlers. The number of decked vessels has remained quite stable for the past five years while the number of trawlers and open boats has gone down faster. In the year 2000, there were 84 trawlers which means their number has been reduced by 20. There were 1,101 open boats in the year 2000 and their number has gone down by 357 in the past five years.
Consolidation in the seafood industry
It is natural for the fishing fleet to be contracting. Development of the fishing industry in recent years has been marked by rationalisation and mergers. Accordingly, the ten largest fisheries companies owned 53% of the overall quota last year, but that ratio was 24% five years ago. It now seems that only one fisheries company will be listed on OMX in Iceland near the end of this year as Vinnslustödin will exit the stock exchange in November this year. Further, HB Grandi is the only traditional seafood company on OMX in Iceland. (AÓ)
