Licensing, monitoring and regulation of aquaculture in Iceland

Summary The legislation concerning aquaculture and aquaculture products is rather complicated in Iceland. Licences are issued by two governmental institutions, one agency under the Ministry for the Environment and the other under the Ministry of Agriculture. A number of institutions are involved in the process of licensing in order to take care of the interests of different stakeholders. Environmental issues are monitored by the Environmental and Food Agency or the local Health Inspection Authority. Disease control, health inspection of fish farms and permission for slaughtering are the responsibility of the Veterinary Officer for Fish Diseases. Control of slaughtering, food processing and the products are the responsibility of the Directorate of Fisheries. The local Health Inspection Authority is responsible for controlling the food products for the domestic market.