The first signs of sprats appearing in Icelandic waters were in 2017 when one fish was caught during a research survey. More were caught in subsequent surveys, and it has now been confirmed that sprats have spawned off the west of Iceland last summer. Now there’s a question of whether this species is there to stay.
Sprats have been identified during research surveys in the Ísafjarðardjúp and Arnarfjörður off the north-west of Iceland, in Breiðafjörður, Faxaflói and at a number of locations off the south coast.
According to the Institute of Marine Research, around 300 sprat were caught south, southwest, and northwest of Iceland in research surveys in October 2021.
The size of these fish was similar to that already observed in Icelandic waters, and sexual maturity staging showed that most the fish had spawned in the preceding summer. Samples collected in Ísafjarðardjúp in March-August 2021 confirm that sprat spawned in the area in the summer of 2021.
The Institute states that it is unknown how sprat arrived in Icelandic waters. It is possible they drifted as eggs or larvae with currents from the Faroe Islands or the North Sea.
It has yet to be seen whether sprat will remain in Icelandic waters in coming years, and the Institute states that this depends on temperature remaining similar or increasing.
