According to preliminary statistics the total fish catch of Icelandic vessels in 2019 was just over 1,048 thousand tonnes, which is 211 thousand tonnes less than in 2018. The decrease is mostly because no capelin was landed in Iceland in 2019. Other pelagic catch was mostly blue whiting and mackerel. Demersal catch was unchanged between years, while flatfish decreased by 18% and shellfish by 19%
The catch in December 2019 was 63 thousand tonnes, a 12% increase compared with December 2018. Demersal catch in the month was 29 thousand tonnes and pelagic catch was about 34 thousand tonnes. The catch in December at fixed price was 3% more than in December 2018.
Information about catch of fish which are published in this press release are preliminary figures. The data is gathered by the Directorate of Fisheries.
| Fish catch | ||||||
| December | January-December | |||||
| 2018 | 2019 | % | 2018 | 2019 | % | |
| Fish catch at constant prices | ||||||
| Index | 54.1 | 55.7 | 3.0 | |||
| Fish catch in tonnes | ||||||
| Total catch | 56,709 | 63,437 | 12 | 1,259,115 | 1,048,202 | -17 |
| Demersal catch | 27,287 | 28,909 | 6 | 480,659 | 481,512 | 0 |
| Cod | 17,408 | 16,869 | -3 | 274,903 | 273,022 | -1 |
| Haddock | 3,714 | 3,315 | -11 | 48,663 | 57,918 | 19 |
| Saithe | 3,674 | 4,154 | 13 | 66,276 | 64,697 | -2 |
| Redfish | 1,630 | 3,399 | 109 | 58,077 | 53,529 | -8 |
| Other demersal catch | 861 | 1,172 | 36 | 32,740 | 32,346 | -1 |
| Flatfish | 829 | 764 | -8 | 27,150 | 22,232 | -18 |
| Pelagic catch | 28,228 | 33,610 | 19 | 738,781 | 534,373 | -28 |
| Herring | 4,708 | 3,662 | -22 | 123,893 | 137,936 | 11 |
| Capelin | 0 | 0 | - | 186,333 | 0 | - |
| Blue whiting | 23,520 | 29,938 | 27 | 292,952 | 268,351 | -8 |
| Mackerel | 0 | 9 | - | 135,603 | 128,085 | -6 |
| Other pelagic catch | 0 | 1 | - | 0 | 1 | - |
| Shellfish | 365 | 154 | -58 | 12,524 | 10,082 | -19 |
| Other species | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 3 | - |