The production of farmed fish in Iceland has multiplied in recent years and was 51 thousand tonnes in 2022 which is 1786 tonnes less than in 2021. Farmed salmon was 90% of the production, arctic char was 4931 tonnes and rainbow trout 1,131 tonnes.
Almost 600 people were employed in the aquaculture business in the year 2021 but were 523 the year before. The operating income was 46 billion ISK in 2021 and is estimated to have been 56 billion ISK in 2022 according to preliminary data. The export value of aquaculture products was 48.8 billion ISK in 2022 compared with 36 billion ISK in 2021.
Iceland is the fourth largest producer of salmon in Europe. In 2021 Norway was the largest producer of salmon in Europe with over 1,5 million tonnes. Scotland produced over 200 thousand tonnes and the Faroe Islands 90 thousand tonnes.
Worldwide, Iceland is in 37th place of overall aquaculture production according to FAO data from 2020. China is by far the largest producer with 18 million tonnes produced by aquaculture.