News & announcements

The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) advises that when the harvest control rule agreed by the Coastal States is applied, there should be zero catch in winter 2024/2025. This advice is based on results from acoustic measurements on the capelin stock by RV Árni Friðriksson (Icelandic), FV Polar Ammassak and RV Tarajoq (Greenlandic) conducted during the period 21 August to 1 October 2024.

The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) has in recent weeks made attempts to tag minke whales in Eyjafjörður in N-Iceland. The tagging is a part of project called MinTag and is under the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, NAMMCO.

Scientists from the Marine and Freshwater Research institute (MFRI), in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark recently published a paper highlighting the climate driven response of capelin distribution in the Iceland-East Greenland-Jan Mayen region. Pronounced shifts in distribution and migration of capelin, one of Iceland's ecologically and commercially important species, have been observed.

A comprehensive report of Icelandic molluscs was published recently by MFRI. It is called Report of ten years of Mollusca collection in Icelandic waters by the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) and it is the most extensive registration of molluscs in Icelandic waters since Ingimar Óskarsson´s publications from the middle of the last century.

A new estimate of the Icelandic grey seal population, based on an aerial survey carried out in 2022, is now available. Regular population estimates have been conducted since 1982 and are based on pup counts in the autumn.

Scientists of the Marine and Freshwater Research institute, University of Iceland and Senckenberg Institute, all members of the BIODICE network, just published a paper in Marine Ecology raising their concern about the Greenland-Scotland ridge in a changing ocean.

Scientists from Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) have successfully completed a habitat masurvey B8-2024. The objective of the survey was to map benthic habitats on the southern and eastern Icelandic shelf.

The Alfred Wegener Institute is carrying out an expedition in the Arctic on the historic research vessel and icebreaker RV Polarstern. An employee from MFRI, population geneticist Dr. Áki Jarl Láruson, is participating in the expedition, working on a project called “The impact of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems”.

Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) began extensive whale survey recently off the Icelandic coastline when the research ship Árni Friðriksson HF 200 docked from Hafnarfjörður.

MFRI (Marine and Freshwater Research Institute) has released advice on fishing opportunities for over twenty fish and invertebrate stocks in Icelandic waters in the 2024/2025 fishing year. The advice is available from the MFRI website under Advice.