The chronology of the Icelandic fisheries

The history of the Icelandic fisheries may be divided into three principal periods: those of the rowing boat, the sailing ship, and the motorized vessels. This division has been widely used, but all three periods overlap and may arguably be divided into shorter phases.

The Age of rowing boats is by far the longest of the three, lasting from the settlement of Iceland at the end of the 9^th century until the early 20^th century, when motorized vessels began to supersede rowing boats. They did not all disappear at once, however, and perhaps the rowing boat period should be regarded as lasting into the late 1920´s. By this time, rowing boats had ceased to be used in commercial fishing.

The sailing ship period, the Age of sail, is far easier to date. The first Icelandic attempts at fishing from sailing vessels occurred in the 1750´s, but these were short-lived. Generally, the turn of the century 1800 is considered as the start of the age of sail in Iceland, lasting until the late 1920´s. The heyday of the sailing-ship fishery was the second half of the 19^th century, but during the early 20^th century the sailing ships were gradually supplanted by decked motorboats and steam-trawlers.

The third principal period, the Age of motor, started in November, 1902 when the first Icelandic motorboat first went fishing in the West Fjords. It was, indeed, a rowing-boat, a six-oaring, equipped with a motor. In the next few years the number of motorboats increased rapidly and during the first two decades of the 20^th century they all but replaced the rowing-boats. The first motorboats were small, open vessels but decked motorboats were soon acquired and these partly superseded the decked sailing vessels. The first steam-trawler was acquired in 1905; the number of these increased rapidly during the next three decades and in 1928 a total of 47 steam-trawlers were operated out of Icelandic ports. After the Second World War the fleet of steam-trawlers was replaced by new, modern vessels and newly built motorboats replaced the older and often outdated ones. The motorboats acquired in the years immediately after the war were built of wood. During the 1960´s and 1970´s hey were gradually superseded by bigger and more modern boats made of steel, while the trawler fleet of sidewinders was replaced by stern-trawlers during the 1970´s and 1980´s. The fleet of motorboats that came into service after the Second World War was operated in the traditional winter-season fisheries during January and throughout April and for herring fisheries during summer. After the disappearance of the main herring stocks in the late 1960´s many of these vessels were operated in the capelin fisheries during winter.

Jón Þ. Þór - University of Akureyri