Íslenskar landbúnaðarrannsóknir - 01.09.1978, Page 37

THE ATLANTIC SALMON IN ICELAND 35
salmon smolts, which had not been avail-
able in Iceland up to that time. At the Fish
Farm there were facilities for releasing
salmon smolts which were able to go di-
rectly into the sea from the flsh ponds, so
ocean survival of the artificially-reared
smoits could be tested. Part of the smolts
released each year were tagged.
There are now eight hatcheries in Ice-
land rearing salmonid flshes, with the
main emphasis on rearing salmon smolts
for sale to be released in rivers:
1. Ellidaár Rearing Station at the river
Ellidaár, built in 1964. Production
capacity is 20,000-25,000 salmon
smolts.
2. Keldur Rearing Station near Reykja-
vík, built in 1963. Production capac-
ity is 35,000-40,000 salmon smolts.
3. Laxalón Rearing Station near
Reykjavík, started in 1951 with rear-
ing ofrainbow trout for consumption.
In later years it has reared mainly
salmon smolts. Production capacity
of the latter is estimated 100,000 sal-
mon smolts.
4. Kollafjördur Experimental Fish
Farm near Reykjavík, started in 1961.
Production capacity ofsalmon smolts
is 150,000, besides 1-summer-olds of
salmon, brown trout, and char.
5. Saudárkrókur Rearing Station at the
town Saudárkrókur in northern Icel-
and, started in 1966. Production cap-
acity is 20,000-25,000 salmon smolts.
6. Laxamýri Rearing Station near the
town Húsavík in northern Iceland,
started in 1972. Production capacity
is 130,000 salmon smolts.
7. Tunga Rearing Station near Kirkju-
baejarklaustur in southeastern Icel-
and, started in 1965. Production cap-
acity is estimated 50,000 salmon
smolts.
8. öxnalaekur Rearing Station at öxn-
alaekur near the town Hveragerdi in
southern Iceland, built for rearing
char for the table, started as a pilot
station in 1969, with construction of
permanent facilities commencing in
1971. Recently the station has taken
up rearing salmon smolts. Estimated
capacity of producing salmon smolts
exclusively is 200,000.
In most cases the construction work has
taken several years because of shortage of
funds. All but one station use thermal
water for rearing fish. In some cases there
are warm springs with water temperature
of 10°-18°C which are being used direclly
for rearing fish. In other cases the temp-
erature of the thermal water is much
higher; it is then used to warm up cold
springwater of3°-5°C to thedesired temp-
erature.
At all the rearing stations except for one
there are hatching facilities. Besides these
hatcheries there are several others, which
incubate only salmon, trout, and char ova,
the largest one built in 1968, at the farm of
Laugarbakkar near the town of Selfoss in
southern Iceland. Its hatching capacity is
2 million salmon eggs.
In addition to the conventional rearing
stations, salmon smolts have been pro-
duced in an artificial lake, the Lárvatn, in
western Iceland. An estuary of a small
river, 160 hectares in area, was closed off
and a fence and a trap built in the outlet,
with sea water entering into the lake at
high tide. Salmon fry released in the lake
feed on natural food. In due time they
migrate to the sea as smolts. Smolts have
also been released in the lake on some