Stykkishólmur

Icelandic authorities report that 7 of 22 salmon submitted for testing were confirmed as farmed escapees, caught in several North/West Iceland rivers. Tracing suggests six fish share a common origin in Dýrafjörður; investigations continue and anglers are asked to turn in suspect fish whole for analysis.

An inspector from the Icelandic Fisheries Agency counted around 100 farmed salmon in the lower section of Haukadalsá, marking the largest occurrence of escaped farmed salmon in an Icelandic river, and plans are underway for removal operations including using anglers and Norwegian divers.

This event follows a series of deep earthquakes, the last comparable one occurring on April 23, and while no eruption has taken place in nearly a millennium, experts warn these movements could signal deeper volcanic processes.

In West and Southwest Iceland, rainfall has been less than 10% of the average for July and early August. Rivers and streams have been shrinking and even drying up entirely following several weeks with little to no rainfall in Iceland.

2020 was the second most successful year on record for Iceland’s sea eagles. Currently there are 85 breeding pairs—mostly around the Breiðafjörður area. This year, there have been 51 eaglets from 60 nests.

Fifty pilot whales were found dead on the shore of Löngufjörur in a sparsely populated part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula on Thursday, RÚV reports.

Lobster stocks around Iceland’s coast are so low a fishing ban is not out of the question.

Sheep, primarily ewes and their lambs, have died in great numbers this past lambing-season. The cause has yet to be determined, and farms all around Iceland appear to be affected.