Family ties and control: their effect on measuring fishing companies' quota holdings in the new bill

Arev has analysed the effects of a proposed bill amending Iceland's fisheries management system. The bill would have a significant effect on how fishing companies' quota holdings are measured. Family ties and the definition of control can matter a great deal.

Key findings

Our analysis shows that even in the baseline case of a new bill, quota ownership would become significantly more concentrated:

  • The aggregated shae of Útgerðarfélag Reykjavíkur would increase by 153%, from 3.5% to 8.9%
  • Samherji would increase its share by 42%, or from 8.6% to 12.2%
  • Fisk - Seafood would increase its share by 30%, or from 6.3% to 8.2%

Family ties and related parties

  • Reykjavík Fishing Company could, according to the bill, control up to 25.6% of the total quota with associated parties
  • Family ties would lead to progressively greater concentration from the base case in three steps:
    1. First stage (siblings): Quota share of ÚR would be 17.7%
    2. Second stage (G.Run, first leg set aside): Quota share of UR moved to 18.7 TP3T
    3. Third stage (G.Run+Ísfélag, first leg set aside): Quota share of ÚR moved to 25.6 TP3T

Dominance – definition of competition law

The bill also includes provisions on jurisdiction which could have significant effects:

  • Samherji could, according to the bill, manage 20.4% of the quota with associated parties
  • Fisk - Seafood could, according to the bill, manage 14.0% of the quota with the Processing Plant

Total compression

The results of the analysis show that the bill would lead to a significant concentration of quota ownership:

  • The 3 largest companies would go from a 32.6% share to as much as 58.5% at its peak, according to the bill.
  • The 5 largest companies would go from a 45.8% share to as much as 78.5% at its peak, according to the bill.

About AREV

AREV specialises in the analysis of the Icelandic fishing industry and resource utilisation. We focus on impartial coverage based on data analysis to promote an informed discussion on important matters concerning the national interest.

Link to an interactive analysis of fishing quotas
Contact the AREV specialists

Last updated: 8 May 2025

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