The catch by foreign vessels in Icelandic waters (region Va) decreased from 90 thousand tonnes in 2007 to 52 thousand tonnes in 2008. The capelin is the most dominant species in the catch of the foreign vessels in 2008. The Norwegians and the Faroese were the most active foreign fishing nations in Icelandic waters in 2008 with catch of 35 and 17 thousand tonnes respectively.
The world catch amounted to 90 million tonnes in 2007 which is an increase from previous year by 201 thousand tonnes. The greatest volume came from the Pacific Ocean or 49.2 million tonnes which is 53.6% of the world catch. The second in rank came the Atlantic Ocean with 19.9 million tonnes, or 22.2% of the world catch. Of individual species the Peruvian anchovy was the largest, 7.6 million tonnes or 8.5% of total world catch. The catch of Alaska pollock, the second in rank, was 2.9 million tonnes. The biggest fishing nation in 2007 was China catching 14.7 million tonnes or 16.2% of the world catch. Iceland ranked number 16 on the world list with catch of 1.4 million tonnes or 1.6% of the world catch.
Parallel to this publication time series have been updated on Statistics Iceland’s website. Figures covering fishing by foreign countries in Icelandic waters are now published as far back as 1973 and figures for the world catch back to 1950.
