A joint submission by the Municipality of Ölfus and Hydros ehf. on the draft legislation on aquaculture has been submitted to the Government Consultation Portal. The submission focuses in particular on land-based aquaculture and the specific conditions under which such operations are conducted in Ölfus.

The submission welcomes the introduction of a comprehensive legislative framework for aquaculture, while emphasizing that land-based aquaculture differs fundamentally from sea-cage farming and that the legislation must reflect this distinction. Land-based aquaculture is carried out in closed, technologically controlled systems where fish welfare, water quality, and environmental impacts are largely under the direct control of the operator.

The submission highlights the importance of clear, predictable, and professionally grounded regulations that support the sustainable development of the sector, ensure investment security, and provide a stable framework for economic and regional development within the municipality. Among the key points raised are the need for objective and measurable criteria for fish welfare and water quality, that stocking density be assessed as part of an overall operational evaluation rather than as an independent criterion, and that requirements related to effluent management and mitigation measures be based on professional assessment and actual environmental impacts.