Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.02.1986, Blaðsíða 1

Sedlabanki Islands
Adalskrifst ofa
Austurstraeti 11
Reykjavik Iceland
100. ÁRGANGUR
pd 1984
JAN 8? PD
Lögberg
Heimskringla
LÖGBERG Stofnað 14. janúar 1888
HEIMSKRINGLA Stofnað 9. september 1886
WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 21. FEBRUAR 1986
NUMER 6
Prófessor Jón
Helgason látinn
Jón Helgason prófessor og skáld er
látinn. Hann var fæddur á Rauðsgili
í Hálsasveit í Borgarfirði árið 1899.
Jón lauk stúdentsprófi frá MR 1916
og Mag. art prófi í norrænum fræðum
frá Kaupmannahafnarháskóla 1923.
Dr. phil. prófi lauk hann við Háskóla
íslands árið 1926.
Jón var kennari við Háskólann i
Osló 1926-27 og siðan forstöðumaður
safns Árna Magnússonar í
Kaupmannahöfn 1927-57. Hann var
forstöðumaður Árna Magnússonar
stofnunarinnar og hefur átt sæti í
Árnanefnd frá 1936. Jón Helgason
var prófessor í íslenskri tungu og
bókmenntum við Kaupmanna-
hafnarháskóla frá 1929.
Eftir Jón liggur fjöldi ritverka
fræðilegs eðlis og frumsamda
ljóðbókin ,,Úr landsuðri".
Jón Helgason var tvíkvæntur. Fyrri
kona hans var Þórunn Ástríður
Björnsdóttir, en hún lést 1966. Seinni
kona Jóns er Agnete Loth lektor í
forníslensku við
Kaupmannahafnarháskóla.
—BG
Dr. jón Helgason prófessor
Near Million-ton Capelintake
Iceland's fishing fleet set a new
tonnage record in 1985, and seafood
exports rose to one of their highest
levels ever. Provisional figures from
the Fisheries Association suggest that
total landings reached 1,674,000
tons, beating the previous best catch
year of 1979 by 33,000 tons.
Almost all the credit goes to the
remarkable recovery of capelin
stocks, which were subject to a two-
year fishing ban late in 1981 to save
them from what was felt to be immi-
nent collapse. The year's capelin take
fell just short of the seven-figure
mark at a record 993,000 tons,
boosted by extra quotas at the start
of the autumn season.
In general, other species showed
relatively little change. Catches of
cod, the major seafood export item,
showed a welcome improvement to
319,000 tons, up 13% on 1985 and
showing the best figure for three
years. This upswing, which was
more marked towards the beginning
of the year, was balanced by slight
falls in landings of other demersal
species such as saithe and redfish,
while haddock remained at a rela-
tively low 47,000 tons for the second
year in a row.
Fetching only around one-tenth of
the price of cod, capelin had less in-
fluence on catch value than the mon-
strous tonnage figures might imply.
Total landed value is estimated at
close to $300 million, the third-
highest ever. Some strengthening
took place on foreign markets for
capelin meal and oil, however, and
catches undoubtedly had a highly
positive effect on the often precarious
employment situation in rural fishing
communities.
Economic Policy in Iceland Examined
At the start of the parliamentary
session in October the government
presented its economic policy pro-
gramme for 1986, together with the
central government budget for next
year.
The background to the economic
policy programme is sluggish
economic growth in the years 1984
and 1985, after a sharp decline in
1982 and 1983. For 1986 a growth
rate for GNP of 2 per cent is forecast,
and GNP would then be only 2 per
cent above the level of 1980. At the
same time GNP growth in the OECD
countries has averaged 15 per cent.
The absolute decline in GNP in
Iceland in the years 1982 and 1983
can be explained by a drastic fall in
fish catches.
Economic developments in Iceland
have for a long time been char-
acterized by large deficits on the cur-
rent account vis-a-vis other countries.
In recent years this has been mainly
due to large interest payments on the
nation's growing foreign debt.
The immediate aim of the govern-
ment’s economic policy is to reduce
the foreign deficit, and thus reduce
the increase in foreign debt and sub-
sequently reduce the foreign debt
relative to GNP. In order to achieve
this, government finances are to be
brought into balance next year after
a substantial deficit in 1985, and
investment plans of public com-
panies have been scaled down. The
public borrowing requirement is
thereby to be contained within limits
that can be financed on the domestic
capital market. Public foreign bor-
rowing will not exceed amortization
of existing debt.
As presented in the budget, the
fiscal balance for 1986 was to be
achieved by an increase in indirect
taxes of some 1,700 million kr.
Furthermore, indirect taxes have to
be raised to compensate for a
planned reduction in personal in-
come tax. This tax increase, however,
would lead to more than a 3 per cent
rise in the cost of living index,
thereby greatly jeopardizing the gov-
ernment's aim of reducing inflation,
now well above 30 per cent.
Although the budget had been
agreed on by the parliamentary
groups of both coalition parties prior
to its presentation, the planned tax in-
creases caused great criticism within
the Independence Party. Eventually
both coalition parties agreed to revise
the budget with the aim of reducing
Continued on Page 7.
The Fisheries Association report
somewhat plays down the impor-
tance of last year's provisional figures
for seafood export earnings, which
also reached a record level. Part of
the $615 million figure was ac-
counted for by the sale of products
from previous years, while changes
in the real value of foreign currencies
have also nibbled away at the in-
ternational purchasing power of
these earnings.
Of all the many trends discernible
within the year’s fisheries per-
formance figures, one stands out for
special attention. Landings of fresh
fish abroad after direct sailings by
Icelandic vessels lept to record levels
as well. Some 62,000 tons of Icelan-
dic fish went straight onto fish
markets in Britain and West Ger-
many, often fetching higher prices
than finished products from freezing
plants.