Aquaculture Act (No. 71 of 2008).

Iceland’s Aquaculture Act establishes the regulatory framework for aquaculture in Icelandic waters, with the dual objectives of promoting development of the aquaculture sector and protecting wild commercial fish stocks and their ecosystems. It requires aquaculture to be conducted responsibly, with minimal disturbance to wild fish populations and without jeopardising their sustainable use. The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (Matvælastofnun) administers and supervises the regime, while the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has important scientific functions. Aquaculture facilities generally require an operating licence, and marine farming areas are allocated on the basis of factors including environmental carrying capacity and assessments of the risk that escaped farmed salmon will genetically mix with wild salmon. Licences must comply with environmental-impact assessment requirements, spatial planning, carrying-capacity assessments and genetic-mixing risk assessments, and applications may be refused where proposed operations pose significant risks of disease or adverse ecosystem effects.
The Act imposes extensive operational, monitoring and environmental-protection duties on aquaculture operators. Facilities must meet technical and safety standards, particularly for marine-cage aquaculture, and operators must maintain internal-control systems, monitor parasites and fish health, report operational information and submit to official inspections. Escapes of farmed fish must be reported immediately, and operators must take measures to recapture escaped fish and prevent ecological damage, bearing the costs of necessary public-authority responses. Authorities may also restrict or prohibit aquaculture in particularly sensitive areas to protect wild stocks from disease, genetic interaction and other ecological effects. Non-compliance may lead to corrective measures and daily coercive fines of up to ISK 500,000 until violations are remedied.