8 © N. SÜHRING ET AL. 
movements alongside increasingly harsh and unpredict- 
able weather conditions. As reported above, though 
weather forecasting has improved in recent years, infor- 
mants perceived that weather patterns are changing 
more rapidly, making it more difficult to predict the 
weather. According to informants, the established 
knowledge of weather patterns has to be adjusted con- 
stantly, and seventy-two-hour forecasts that could be 
used in the past are not precise enough anymore. The 
ıncreasing unpredictability of the weather could even: 
tually increase the risk to people at sea. On the other 
hand, it was also noted in interviews that people who 
work in the marine industries have already adapted to 
monitoring the weather more carefully and are thus 
usually able to prepare for storms in a timely manner. 
It was also mentioned that though fishermen usually 
do not risk going out when bad weather is forecast, there 
can always be miscalculations for one reason or another, 
and this can be partially attributed to the management 
systems. As several informants noted, the individual 
transferable quota (ITQ) system is based on yearly 
catch allowances, so it is possible that there is reduced 
pressure for fishers to go out to sea during bad weather. 
For those with sufficient quota, it is not a major stress on 
che fishing operation to take a few days off fishing due to 
bad weather. However, in the summer coastal fishery, 
fishers are constrained by daily catch limits and may feel 
pressure to fish in adverse weather. In this fishery, each 
boat is given forty-eight days within a four-month time 
period, but the overall quota for the fishery is often 
reached before the forty-eight days, so there is pressure 
to go fishing before the quota limit is reached. 
Other informants highlighted that even though they 
were aware of the adverse effects of climate change, such 
as increasing sea temperatures, rising sea levels, or 
migrating fish stocks, they were mostly concerned 
about the impacts that governmental regulations and 
the fisheries management system might have on fish 
eries. The concern was expressed that small boats would 
be replaced by bigger boats in the future to withstand 
adverse weather conditions. Others noted that the cur- 
cent discussion within the fishing industry is mostly 
focused on issues with the quota system and the problem 
of employment, pushing climate change adaptation 
needs into the background. 
Finally, although it was not a major aim of this study 
co address impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on fish- 
eries, it was often discussed in interviews, and the 
experiences of members of the fisheries industry 
throughout the pandemic provided interesting compar- 
1sons to potential future climate change threats. For 
small-scale processors of fresh fish exports, the hardest 
time during the pandemic was when the U.S. market was 
closed for three weeks in early 2020 because of the 
cancellation of flights. In one example, a small-scale 
processing company was able to diversify into frozen 
exports but did lose money due to the halting of the 
export of fresh fish. Though they did have to slow down 
operations and consequently lost money, they managed 
to avoid employee layoffs in the processing factory. 
Adaptation efforts and needs 
Preparedness. During the interviews, several adaptation 
efforts and requirements regarding storminess and bad 
weather events were mentioned. A small boat fisher 
aoted that it is important to take the necessary measures 
and prepare the boats well prior to a storm for them to 
be safe inside the harbor. It was further mentioned that 
it would be important to improve the harbors to prepare 
better for storms. Preparedness was also highlighted as 
an essential asset in the aquaculture sector. In aquacul- 
ture, because it is unsafe to send staff out to secure the 
equipment during a storm, the only option is to prepare 
well for the storm by using the best available technology 
and techniques and thus minimize the impacts. 
From the point of view of search and rescue and the 
Coast Guard, it was assumed that if storms were to 
become more frequent and intense, fishers would still 
1ave to go to sea to sustain the fishery, which could 
‘esult in an increasing number of rescue/assistance mis- 
sions. Irrespective of whether storms and extreme 
weather events become more frequent and intense in 
‘he future, it was deemed necessary by several infor- 
mants to base helicopters in locations additional to the 
base in Reykjavik to respond faster in risk situations in 
more remote locations. Until the financial resources are 
made available to locate helicopters outside Reykjavik, it 
will remain important that volunteers from local search 
and rescue teams in small remote towns continue to be 
able to operate smaller rescue boats. 
Flexibility and diversity. Ideas of how to ensure flex- 
‘bility and diversity were varied. Some informants pre- 
dicted that if the weather changed and people were not 
able to fish anymore, the present fisheries management 
system based on ITQs would not be able to handle the 
potential large changes. Attention was drawn in the 
interviews to the need to adapt fisheries management 
policies to changing climatic conditions and a potential 
decline in fish stocks. Some informants noted that the 
expansion of the aquaculture sector could be considered 
a buffer against climate change impacts. Other infor- 
mants pointed out that both marine fisheries and aqua- 
culture businesses are impacted by extreme weather and 
ıntense storms similarly and thus share the same climate 
change risks.