English Prawn fishing and processing
Prawn fishing and processing in this country is originated in Ísafjarðardjúp. This fishing was first introduced to Iceland by 2 Norwegians living in Ísafjörður. Ole G. Syre and Símon Olsen were living in Ísafjörður and brought knowledge of prawn fishing to Iceland from their home town at Karmöy on the west coast of Norway. The Ísafjörður prawn factory began operations on 23 June 1936 in Neðstakaupstaður. Olsen and Syre supplied the factory with raw material, having found rich fishing grounds in Hestfjörður. The prawn was shelled and canned. In the summer of 1936 prawn processing employed a staff of 50. Prawn fishing was discontinued during the war years but commenced again shortly after 1945 and soon there was an increase in prawn fishing boats and processing on land. Around 1970 the prawn industry was one of the cornerstones of the local economy in towns and villages around Ísafjarðardjúp. There were 7 prawn processing plants in operation at Ísafjarðardjúp at this time. In 1999 prawn fishing collapsed with an attendant reduction in the number of processing plants. There is now one prawn processing plant in Ísafjörður which mainly depends on deep-sea prawn. Shallow-water prawn fishing is allowed in small quantities.
Detail
The first experimental prawn fishing was made by Syre and Olsen in 1924 with a prawn trawl in Ísafjarðardjúp, with considerable success. The fishing was discontinued because there was no market for this innovative product in Iceland. The Icelanders called this species kampalampi but soon used the name rækja (prawn) like the Norwegians.
It was in 1935 that continuous prawn fishing commenced in Ísafjarðardjúp. Again it was Símon Olsen and Ole G. Syre that were the prime movers, on the boat Karmöy. They imported a prawn trawl from Norway and made big catches. Icelanders were circumspect about this innovatory catch, which appeared to them like a giant skeleton shrimp. The Ísafjörður newspaper Skutull published an advertisement that said that prawns could be seen in the shop window at the cooperative and could be purchased fresh. "People should not be put off by the appearance of the creature but rather take courage and taste it," said the ad in the newspaper.
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