Wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland
Iceland: Wild fish catch by gear type was 270,807 tonnes in 2018. ▼ Falling
Latest (2018)
270,807 tonnes
Change on year
up 32.2%
World rank
18th
of 111 countries
All-time high
631,184 tonnes
in 1958
All-time low
191,593 tonnes
in 2015
Years of data
69
1950–2018
Wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland, 1950–2018
Source: Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 270,807 tonnes for wild fish catch by gear type in 2018.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 32.2% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland peaked at 631,184 tonnes in 1958 and was at its lowest, 191,593 tonnes, in 2015.
That places Iceland 18th out of 111 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 69 years of available data.
Wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 228,287 tonnes | — |
| 1951 | 264,343 tonnes | +15.8% |
| 1952 | 439,851 tonnes | +66.4% |
| 1953 | 342,226 tonnes | -22.2% |
| 1954 | 342,676 tonnes | +0.1% |
| 1955 | 406,054 tonnes | +18.5% |
| 1956 | 350,334 tonnes | -13.7% |
| 1957 | 347,914 tonnes | -0.7% |
| 1958 | 631,184 tonnes | +81.4% |
| 1959 | 587,536 tonnes | -6.9% |
| 1960 | 415,799 tonnes | -29.2% |
| 1961 | 317,244 tonnes | -23.7% |
| 1962 | 233,488 tonnes | -26.4% |
| 1963 | 261,805 tonnes | +12.1% |
| 1964 | 272,824 tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1965 | 257,812 tonnes | -5.5% |
| 1966 | 218,055 tonnes | -15.4% |
| 1967 | 198,051 tonnes | -9.2% |
| 1968 | 220,908 tonnes | +11.5% |
| 1969 | 270,253 tonnes | +22.3% |
| 1970 | 282,061 tonnes | +4.4% |
| 1971 | 253,027 tonnes | -10.3% |
| 1972 | 231,000 tonnes | -8.7% |
| 1973 | 232,577 tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 243,082 tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1975 | 287,457 tonnes | +18.3% |
| 1976 | 279,077 tonnes | -2.9% |
| 1977 | 293,808 tonnes | +5.3% |
| 1978 | 290,909 tonnes | -1.0% |
| 1979 | 365,820 tonnes | +25.8% |
| 1980 | 419,699 tonnes | +14.7% |
| 1981 | 451,196 tonnes | +7.5% |
| 1982 | 443,775 tonnes | -1.6% |
| 1983 | 390,422 tonnes | -12.0% |
| 1984 | 371,018 tonnes | -5.0% |
| 1985 | 369,320 tonnes | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 394,746 tonnes | +6.9% |
| 1987 | 431,608 tonnes | +9.3% |
| 1988 | 468,530 tonnes | +8.6% |
| 1989 | 411,666 tonnes | -12.1% |
| 1990 | 394,873 tonnes | -4.1% |
| 1991 | 383,293 tonnes | -2.9% |
| 1992 | 300,303 tonnes | -21.7% |
| 1993 | 269,890 tonnes | -10.1% |
| 1994 | 218,947 tonnes | -18.9% |
| 1995 | 207,145 tonnes | -5.4% |
| 1996 | 201,976 tonnes | -2.5% |
| 1997 | 191,945 tonnes | -5.0% |
| 1998 | 206,975 tonnes | +7.8% |
| 1999 | 215,906 tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 208,464 tonnes | -3.4% |
| 2001 | 192,799 tonnes | -7.5% |
| 2002 | 228,871 tonnes | +18.7% |
| 2003 | 235,547 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 264,286 tonnes | +12.2% |
| 2005 | 274,010 tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 269,313 tonnes | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 259,300 tonnes | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 259,514 tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 252,086 tonnes | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 235,575 tonnes | -6.5% |
| 2011 | 225,042 tonnes | -4.5% |
| 2012 | 228,751 tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 259,820 tonnes | +13.6% |
| 2014 | 232,489 tonnes | -10.5% |
| 2015 | 191,593 tonnes | -17.6% |
| 2016 | 200,412 tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 204,810 tonnes | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 270,807 tonnes | +32.2% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 270,807 tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 47,385 tonnes, 5.7× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 270,807 tonnes is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 54,562 tonnes, 5.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | +81.4% | 347,914 tonnes | 631,184 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 394,040 tonnes | 228,287 tonnes | 631,184 tonnes | 10 |
| 1960s | 266,624 tonnes | 198,051 tonnes | 415,799 tonnes | 10 |
| 1970s | 275,882 tonnes | 231,000 tonnes | 365,820 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 415,198 tonnes | 369,320 tonnes | 468,530 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 259,125 tonnes | 191,945 tonnes | 394,873 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 244,419 tonnes | 192,799 tonnes | 274,010 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 227,700 tonnes | 191,593 tonnes | 270,807 tonnes | 9 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More agriculture & rural data for Iceland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 19.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0365 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 3,593 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.8983 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.0578 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland?
- Wild fish catch by gear type in Iceland was 270,807 tonnes in 2018, according to Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wild fish catch by gear type recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 631,184 tonnes in 1958.
- What is the lowest wild fish catch by gear type recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 191,593 tonnes in 2015.
- How does Iceland rank for wild fish catch by gear type?
- Iceland ranks 18th out of 111 countries with data for 2018.
- Is wild fish catch by gear type rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Sea Around Us (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Wild fish catch by gear type. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 69 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).