Iceland review - 2016, Page 64

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EDDA SÓLEY KRISTMANNSDÓTTIR -
FOREPERSON - AGUSTSON SEAFOOD
COMPANY
Once the town’s livelihood, the scallop
industry all but vanished in 2003 due
to overfishing and a parasite infection.
In 2014, family-owned seafood compa-
ny Agustson, which is headquartered in
Stykkishólmur, began a three-year exper-
imental research project in collaboration
with the Marine Research Institute and the
owners of the fishing quota. Edda Sóley
Kristmannsdóttir, foreman at Agustson says
the project has been going well. “The
scallops are really beautiful and tasty,” she
beams, handing us a few to take with us and
try that evening. You won’t find Icelandic
scallops in local fish stores; Edda says the
bulk of theirs are sent to France, with some
bought by one of the local restaurants and
others featured in local tourism company
Sea Tours’ ‘Viking Sushi.’
Clockwise from top: bright orange sea urchin roe, buttered dried fish with dulse and sugar kelp,
whole sea urchins, fillets of dried fish, dulse, and scallops—all sourced locally—presented on
ceramics made by local potter Sigríður Erla Guðmundsdóttir of Leir 7 Gallery.