2 © N. SÜHRING ET AL. 
zequire further assessment and research were high- 
lighted. Some informants pointed out that the expansion 
of the aquaculture sector could be considered a buffer 
against climate change impacts, and other informants 
were quick to note that storms and extreme weather also 
have negative impacts on sea pens and thus it does not 
qualify as an adaptation strategy. According to Reid et al. 
(2019), most aquaculture activities are inherently vul: 
nerable because of their reliance on specific areas of 
marine space. To adapt to uncertainties in storm 
extremes, current aquaculture operations need to incor 
porate the best available projections of weather thresh- 
olds in their structural design plans. Sea pens might have 
co be relocated to locations less impacted by intense and 
frequent storm activity (Reid et al. 2019). However, 
locating sea pens deeper into the fjords, which might 
‚ead to less water circulation around the pens, could 
result in stronger adverse effects on the ecosystem. In 
addition, moderately warmer conditions might lead to 
an increased growth rate in sea pen salmon and may also 
cause the fish to be more vulnerable to sea lice (Callaway 
et al. 2012). In this regard, functional adaptive strategies 
can be developed that capitalize on the advantage that 
aquaculture has over marine fisheries (Reid et al. 2019). 
Throughout the interviews, the importance of 
improving the harbors was predominantly mentioned 
as an adaptation need and important preparedness mea- 
sure to face the potential of more frequent and intense 
storms in the future. Because harbors can be vulnerable 
to storm surges, flooding, and sea-level rise, impacts of 
climate change need to be anticipated and harbors need 
to be proactively prepared for increased flooding and 
sea-level rise, as well as more frequent storm events 
(Kontogianni et al. 2019). To adapt to changing stormi- 
ness in the future, the local harbors in the Westfjords 
should be reassessed holistically, taking geophysical as 
well as socioeconomic parameters into account, and 
adaptation measures should be carried out. A study 
conducted by Eskafı et al. (2020) on flexible and adaptive 
port planning that includes a case study of the Isafjördur 
port network presented an array of methods that are 
crucial to achieve sustainability in port development and 
management. This study showed that in the future, it 
will be essential for port development in Iceland to 
anticipate the impacts of climate change to guarantee 
che development of efficient and resilient harbor spaces 
(Kontogianni et al. 2019). 
This study further highlighted the need to continu- 
ously involve and train search and rescue volunteers in 
small rural communities in Iceland to ensure a fast 
response to unexpected weather-induced risk situations. 
Because volunteer search and rescue groups are nearly 
always the first responders in Iceland, providing 
additional training, resources, and support is and will 
remain crucial, especially under changing storminess 
conditions (Ford and Clark 2019). According to the 
interview with the Icelandic Coast Guard, it has not yet 
been financially feasible to develop helicopter bases in 
rural regions outside the capital city. This underlines the 
need for competent search and rescue volunteers in rural 
cegions in Iceland and calls for in-depth research on 
10w to ensure and advance the continuous inclusion of 
volunteers in rescue operations. 
Finally, adaptation options such as partner-to-part 
ner agreements are good examples of adaptation mea- 
sures, Such arrangements have the possibility to allow 
fishing companies to flexibly respond to unexpected 
shocks and minimize economic losses. For example, 
he ability to switch production to frozen fish during 
COVID-19 market changes may have interesting com- 
parisons for future storm adaptations when small-scale 
fishers are not able to land fresh fish. However, building 
and testing responsive and effective partnership models 
may require adjustments to existing fishery management 
schemes which tend to be static and centralized 
(Lomonico et al. 2021). According to Icelandic regula- 
tions, there is a limit on how much raw material is 
allowed to be sold to a third party; however, a special 
agreement between companies, as described in the 
Results section, could be an interesting consideration 
for companies and fishery management. Additionally, 
‘he cooperation, rather than competition, between small 
and large fishing fleets deserves further attention and 
consideration. To use such arrangements to adapt to 
changing storminess in the future, more research that 
explores potential collaborations and their feasibility 
ander existing fishery management rules is required. 
Furthermore, it will be necessary to explore how current 
fishery management tools and regulatory pathways can 
be altered to allow for faster responsiveness to uneX- 
pected shocks by promoting effective collaboration 
among fishery sectors. 
Conclusions 
This study has shown that future projections of stormi- 
ness around Iceland vary by region and that potential 
ımpacts of storms on fisheries and aquaculture busi- 
nesses vary between sectors. To develop and implement 
suitable adaptation strategies to changing storminess, 
'urther on-ground research and action at local scales is 
aecessary. As well as the research needs mentioned in 
‘he Discussion, additional research is necessary with 
zegard to impacts of storms and extreme weather events 
on other maritime sectors important to local economies 
such as fish processing, transportation, shipping, cruise