Institutes

The Icelandic parliament, Althingi, lays, by legislation, the fundamental rules to base the fisheries management upon. The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture is responsible for the overall management of the fisheries, the issuing of regulations and long term planning. Eight organizations are based under The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. They are:

• The Directorate of Fisheries
• The Marine Research Institute
• The Agricultural Economics Institute

• The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST)

• The Icelandic Food Research (Matís)
• The Central Bureau of Applied Research

• The Institute of Freshwater Fisheries

• The Freshfish Price Directorate

The institutes that are primarily concerned with Icelandic fisheries and the marine environment are the four first ones. In addition the Coast Guard under the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs, the Icelandic the Maritime Administration under the Ministry of Communications, the Environmental Agency of Iceland under the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics Iceland under the Prime Minister Office are of major relevance to Icelandic fisheries and the marine ecosystem.

Editor