Salmon farmers, Arctic Fish and Arnarlax, allowed to continue operating, for now.
The Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources has granted an exception to Arctic Fish and Arnarlax after their operational licences were revoked last month according to icelandreview.
Late last year, the Icelandic Food Administration allowed companies Fjarðarlax (Arnarlax) and Arctic Sea Farm to produce up to 17,500 tonnes of salmon in open-net sea pens, Patreksfjordur and Tálknafjörður, both in the Westfjords region.
The licence had been granted last Dec. 13 and was in addition to their operations in other parts of the Westfjords. However, the Iceland Nature Conservation Association, along with other conservation groups, had brought the charge against the licence to the Environmental and Natural Resources Board of Appeal, overturning that decision.
The new temporary licences are only valid for 4,000 tonnes of salmon, and not for the original 17,500 tonnes licence which was revoked.
Authorities have requested that both Fjarðarlax (Arnarlax) and Arctic Sea Farm work to remedy the environmental deficiencies that caused their licences to be revoked.
