Editing Economy of Iceland (section)

===Fisheries===
Fisheries and related sectors—in recent years labelled "the ocean cluster"—was the single most important part of the Icelandic economy (it has now been replaced by tourism) representing an overall contribution to GDP of 27.1% in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iceland's Ocean Economy—The economic impact and performance of the ocean cluster in 2011|url=https://sjavarklasinn.is/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IcelandsOceanEconomy2011.pdf&ei=wBVvUuTIONST0AXjzICgDA&usg=AFQjCNEOrZ3wft2YJrKNRcmxlfhaRhfjfA&sig2=_t3ouzpzXUIp8mAtiQpRig |website=Íslenski Sjávarklasinn |trans-website=Iceland Ocean Cluster |access-date=29 October 2013|page=4|language=is|format=PDF}}{{dead link|date=April 2023}}</ref> The fisheries sector directly employs around 9,000 people (4,900 in fishing and 4,100 in fish processing; approximately 5 per cent of Iceland's workforce),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Employed persons by economic activity, sex and regions 2008-2012 (NACE REV 2.)|url=http://statice.is/?PageID=1191&src=https://rannsokn.hagstofa.is/pxen/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=VIN01103%26ti=Employed+persons+by+economic+activity%2C+sex+and+regions+2008%2D2012+%28NACE+REV+2%2E%29++++++%26path=../Database/vinnumarkadur/rannsoknir/%26lang=1%26units=Fj%F6ldi|publisher=Statistics Iceland|access-date=29 October 2013}}</ref> although it is estimated that a total of between 25,000 and 35,000 people (up to 20 per cent of the workforce) depend on the ocean cluster for their livelihood. Many of these jobs are provided by technological companies that manufacture equipment for fisheries firms and by companies engaged in the advanced processing of marine products or in biotechnical production. By contrast, aquaculture remains a very small industry in Iceland, employing only around 250 people for a production of 5,000 tonnes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iceland's Ocean Economy—The economic impact and performance of the ocean cluster in 2011|url=https://sjavarklasinn.is/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IcelandsOceanEconomy2011.pdf&ei=wBVvUuTIONST0AXjzICgDA&usg=AFQjCNEOrZ3wft2YJrKNRcmxlfhaRhfjfA&sig2=_t3ouzpzXUIp8mAtiQpRig |website=Íslenski Sjávarklasinn |trans-website=Iceland Ocean Cluster |access-date=29 October 2013|page=10|language=is|format=PDF}}{{dead link|date=April 2023}}</ref>

Iceland is the second biggest fisheries nation in the North East Atlantic behind [[Norway]], having overtaken the [[United Kingdom]] in the early 1990s. Since 2006, Icelandic fishing waters have yielded a total catch of between 1.1m and 1.4m tonnes of fish annually, although this is down from a peak of over 2m tonnes in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iceland's Ocean Economy—The economic impact and performance of the ocean cluster in 2011|url=https://sjavarklasinn.is/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IcelandsOceanEconomy2011.pdf&ei=wBVvUuTIONST0AXjzICgDA&usg=AFQjCNEOrZ3wft2YJrKNRcmxlfhaRhfjfA&sig2=_t3ouzpzXUIp8mAtiQpRig |website=Íslenski Sjávarklasinn |trans-website=Iceland Ocean Cluster |access-date=29 October 2013|page=5|language=is|format=PDF}}{{dead link|date=April 2023}}</ref>

[[Cod]] remains the most important species harvested by Icelandic fisheries, with a total catch of 178,516 tonnes in 2010. The catch of cod has stagnated in recent years due to quotas, and was supplemented by the catch of [[blue whiting]], which is used mainly for processing. The Icelandic catch of this previously insignificant fish increased from a negligible 369 tonnes in 1995 to a peak of 501,505 tonnes in 2003. Subsequently, the stock showed signs of instability and quotas were reduced, leading to a decline in the catch to 87,121 tonnes in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1214&src=/temp_en/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=SJA09001%26ti=Catch+and+catch+value+by+fishing+area+and+species+1993%2D2010%26path=../Database/sjavarutvegur/af3Fisk/%26lang=1%26units=Tonnes/1,000 |title=Statistics Iceland - Statistics » Fisheries and agriculture » Catch and value of catch |publisher=Statistics Iceland |access-date=2012-02-20}}</ref> There have been increased numbers of [[Atlantic mackerel]] (the "Miracle of the Mackerel") in the 21st century as the Atlantic Ocean has slightly warmed.<ref name=NewYorker41615>{{Cite magazine|author1=Adam Gopnik|title=The Coffee of Civilization in Iceland|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-coffee-of-civilization-in-iceland|access-date=April 16, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|issue=April 16, 2015|quote=Miracle of the Mackerel. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, schools of mackerel, hugely profitable for the fishing industry, suddenly became abundant in Icelandic fishing waters.}}</ref>