News & announcements

HMS Rajputana; a steam passenger ship completed in December 1925 was converted into the armed mercha…

Measurements shed light on the shipwreck of HMS Rajputana

New Measurements Shed Light on a Familiar Shipwreck: About 80 nautical miles west of Snæfellsnes, at a depth of approximately 400 meters beneath the ocean's surface, rests a shipwreck. Its hull spans 155 meters in length and 20 meters in width, with what appears to be the bow rising 13 meters from the seabed, facing west. This intriguing discovery lies adjacent to the far edge of an iceberg ploughmark, stretching 330 meters in length and 12 meters deep.
Julian Burgos, marine ecologist, monitoring the acquisition of data

Seabed mapping in full swing

The thirteenth multibeam survey of the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute’s to map the seabed around Iceland in ongoing. Seabed Mapping project began 9 April, departing from the Westman islands en route to the west of the Reykjanes Ridge, the survey covered Reykjanesgrunn, Faxabanki, and Jökuldjúp. Despite challenging conditions, including strong north-northwest winds, the team managed to obtain satisfactory depth measurements of the seabed, covering an area of approximately 5996 km2 by the time of this report.
Theresa Henke

Seminar April 4th: The Establishment of European Flounder in Iceland

Theresa Henke, a PhD student, will introduce the main findings of her research on the “Establishment of European flounder (Platichthys flesus) in Icelandic waters”.
There is good reason for Icelanders to celebrate this day and our precious water. Picture: Jón S. Ól…

World Water Day is today 22 March

Today, 22 March is the World Water Day. There is good reason for everyone who lives in Iceland to celebrate this day and our precious water. Apart from the fish in the sea, there is no natural resource more important to us than the water. It is obviously the foundation for fishing in rivers and lakes, but also for energy-intensive industry in Iceland as electricity production relies on hydro and geothermal energy.
Kristín Inga Pétursdóttir Whitehead and Svandís Eva Aradóttir attending to otolith removal from hadd…

YO-HEAVE-HO!

There has been a lot of activity onboard the trawler Breki VE 61 during the MFRI´s annual groundfish survey. Four ships involved in the project: the trawlers Breki VE and Gullver NS, and MFRI´s research vessels Árni Friðriksson and Bjarni Sæmundsson. Here you can see some pictures of the Breki crew in action.
The two seals on picture to the left are harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and the one to the rightis t…

Two Harbour Seals and one Grey Seal

The two seal species that usually can be seen on Icelandic shores are the Harbour Seal an the Grey Seal. The two seals on picture to the left are Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina) and the one to the right is the Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus).
Picture: Svanhildur Egilsdóttir.

Range-extension of invasive and native brachyuran crabs in North-West Iceland

A new study reveals that Species distributions are changing in response to global warming and the introduction of non-native species often acting in combination. Ranges are expected to move poleward as temperatures rise, with effects likely to be greater in low diversity systems in higher latitude areas. Such spread can potentially have consequences for resident species, especially in disturbed systems.
Asgeir Gunnarsson, Iceland most prominent expert on the spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor), with hi…

Happy rendezvous with a spotted wolffish

It was evidently a happy rendezvous between Ásgeir Gunnarsson, a specialist at MFRI with a spotted wolffish during the annual groundfish survey of MFRI´s Demersal division onboard the research vessel Arni Fridriksson. This annual research survey is known as the spring or March rally among the MFRO´s staff and the local fishing industry.
Warsha Singh holds a PhD in Ecological Modelling and has a strong interest in research and scientifi…

Warsha Singh at the UNESCO International Day of Women in Multilateralism 2024 - Pictures

Pictures: Warsha Singh, an ecologist at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute’s Pelagic division in Iceland, was selected to participate at the UNESCO International Day of Women in Multilateralism 2024. The forum took place 25 January at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.
When examining the stomach contents of spotted wolffish, reported in a new article published in Jour…

Spotted wolffish reveals nesting behaviour in greater eelpout

When examining the stomach contents of spotted wolffish, reported in a new article published in Journal of Fish Biology recently, researchers at MFRI discovered that it had consumed more than 700 fish larvae, which were identified as greater eelpout.
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