There are two types of general fishing permits:
Catch quota fishing permit
Catch quota fishing permits are without restrictions on:
the size of vessels,
legal fishing gear.
Hook-and-line catch quota fishing permit
Hook-and-line catch quota fishing permits are subject to certain conditions:
Vessels must be less than 15 metres in length and under 30 gross tonnage.
Fishing is restricted to longline and handline.
It is prohibited to transfer catch qoutas from the hook-and-line catch quota system to the catch quota system, except in an equal exchange.
Conditions for commercial fishing permit
The applicant needs to be operator of a vessel
The vessel must have a valid certificate of seaworthiness from the Icelandic Transport Authority.
The vessel must be registered as a fishing vessel with the Icelandic Transport Authority.
Operator of the vessel must have no outstanding financial debt to the Directorate of Fisheries.
The vessel and its operation must be under Icelandic ownership.
It is not possible to obtain a fishing permit for so-called “development fund boats”.
Permit validity
A permit is valid from the date of issue and for as long as the vessel is used for fishing.
When is the permit revoked?
The permit is revoked under the following circumstances:
If the vessel has not been used for commercial fishing for twelve months.
If the vessel is removed from the Icelandic Transport Authority's register.
If the owners or operator of the vessel do not meet the conditions of the acts on:
investment by foreign parties in business operations,
fishing and processing by foreign vessels within Iceland's fisheries jurisdiction.
Payment for permits is during the application process. The permit costs 22.000 ISK
Service provider
The Directorate of Fisheries