The age of settlement

From the early days of settlement in the late 9^th century, until the 20^th century the Icelanders´ economy rested on two main pillars – animal husbandry and fishing and the utilization of other marine resources. For the best part of this long period the two economic sectors, fishing and farming, were so closely intertwined that they can hardly be distinguished. Neither could survive without the other and as fish was such an important factor in the daily fare of the Icelanders, farmers made great efforts to acquire fish for their homes. Indeed, most farmers and farm labourers were part-time fishermen and many coastal dwellers worked as farm labourers during summer although fishing was their main occupation. Many coastal farms were also owned by the Church and, after the reformation in the mid-sixteenth century, by the King and were rented out to farmers who in turn took care of the operation of fishing vessels. Broadly speaking it can be maintained that in the coastal regions, especially in the south and west of the country, fishing was the most important economic activity and farming a sideline. In the north and east and in areas furthest from the sea the opposite was the case.

It is disputable whether the fisheries should be defined as a separate economic sector in the first centuries of Icelandic history and from the viewpoint of economic history it is probably right to see the period from the settlement until around 1150 as a prelude to the rowing-boat age. At that time agriculture flourished to a degree never achieved since and until the 12^th century fishing was mainly a sideline for farmers and essentially for subsistence alone. In those parts of the country that later became the most important fishing regions, such as the south coast, from the Vestmanna Islands to the Suðurnes, the Faxaflói bay area, the Breiðafjörður area, the West Fjords and the Northwest, fisheries were of a greater importance than elsewhere already in this period and catch failure had a serious impact. Nevertheless, the boats were smaller (mostly 2-4 oaring) in this period than in later centuries, the fishing grounds closer to shore and fishing was only conducted in order to provide food for home consumption. In this period most of the fishing seems to have taken place during spring and early summer, i.e. when the small boats could put to sea, the fish came close to the coast and while farmers could spare labour from other farming activities. Fishing was thus one of the so-called “spring tasks” and fitted conveniently into the agricultural calendar. Fishing boats and fishing techniques used were also well suited to this arrangement and so was the use of labour. In many parts of the country the spring-fisheries were conducted from seasonal fishing stations, situated at convenient places on the coast. The rule was that by early May and throughout June, i.e. before the haymaking season, farmers would send some of their labourers and slaves, both men and women, to the fishing stations, where they stayed in huts or tents for a period of four and up to six or eight weeks. Their task was not only to catch and cure fish, but also to collect eggs from seabirds as well as eider-down and to catch seabirds. In some places these people would also hunt for seals and assemble driftwood, drag it up from the shoreline and start drying it. At the end of the season the labourers would return to the farm, bringing their harvest with them.

This activity was an important factor in the running of every major farm and although sources indicate export of fish during the first two or three centuries of Icelandic history, there is abundant evidence of trade in fish inside Iceland and that fish, especially dried fish, was an important and valuable commercial item in domestic trade. The best fishing grounds were situated off the southwest and west coasts and medieval sources, the Icelandic Sagas for instance, frequently mention farmers from rural areas who travelled a long way in order to barter their own goods for fish from seaside landowners.

Jón Þ. Þór - University of Akureyri