| Summary: | With a rich history in fisheries, Iceland has of course been involved in the world’s fastest growing food industry, aquaculture. In recent years sea based aquaculture has been becoming more popular and has resulted in expansion throughout the fjords and along the coasts of the country. The goal of this project was to determine if there have been any impacts to or from the native seal populations and predict the potential for future impacts. Through monitoring already established aquaculture sites and native seal populations, an understanding may be gained of how interactions have been occurring by visibly studying them as well as comparing conditions to elsewhere in the world where interactions have led to problems. Aquaculture companies have also been surveyed in order to determine the past and present issues which have been occurring around the country. This study collected baseline data of seal numbers at haulout sites, sites where aquaculture is already established and at locations that will have aquaculture in the future. This data, along with research from around the world where aquaculture has had issues with seals and other marine mammals, best practices for dealing with and preventing conflicts can be determined for Iceland. This baseline data can also be used for future studies, monitoring changes of seal numbers at the established field sites. Westfjords Economic Growth Agreement (WEGA)
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