Sea Fishing in Iceland: Deep Sea Angling, Boats and Rules

The Common Species

Cod is the headline fish. Atlantic cod often runs a metre or more long, and the largest ever recorded weighed 96 kg (211 lb). On a Reykjavik tour out of Faxaflói Bay you have a good chance of cod, haddock, rockfish and pollock, and one listing adds mackerel and Atlantic wolffish.

Haddock is the smaller cousin and rarely exceeds 60 cm (23 inches). Pollock grows to about a metre, with a record of 21 kg (46 lb). Wolffish, the fish some guides call Atlantic catfish, often tops a metre and holds a record of 18 kg (40 lb).

It is the fish behind Iceland's dried-fish delicacy. Plaice and ocean perch show up on Westfjords and Snæfellsnes trips. Most operators fillet your fish on deck so you only carry the meat home.

Halibut: Catch and Release

Atlantic halibut is the one fish to treat with care. Icelandic Regulation 470/2012 has banned directed halibut fishing since 2012 and requires viable halibut caught in other fisheries to be released. How strictly that binds a recreational tour boat is a matter sources differ on, so confirm with your skipper before you sail.

Guide to Iceland calls the halibut the only endangered fish you may still hook when sea fishing in Iceland and encourages catch-and-release if one takes your bait. A few outfitters in the Westfjords market halibut as a target, which sits oddly beside the ban. The safe move is simple: if you hook a halibut, release it alive.

One guide site also quotes minimum landing sizes for cod and haddock, but the official island.is permit page lists no size minimums for recreational anglers, so treat those figures as unverified. Ask the crew what they want kept on the day. Source: Guide to Iceland, FAOLEX.

No Permit for the Sea

Anyone may fish at sea with rods and hand reel line, without an automatic jigger, and no permit is needed. The catch may not be sold or exploited in any way, and landowners' rights must be kept in mind when you fish from shore. That applies to foreigners and Icelanders alike.

Shore angling follows the same rule: rod and hand line, own consumption, no sale. Freshwater is a different world of permits, private rivers and gear disinfection, which is covered in the fishing licence guide. If you bring your own tackle from abroad for freshwater, it must be disinfected and certified.

Deep-sea fishing gear and new unused equipment are exempt from that requirement.

How Tour Boats Are Capped

Operators need their own recreational-fishing permit per vessel, valid for one fishing year at 22,000 ISK. The application needs a permit from the Icelandic Tourist Board, a valid certificate of seaworthiness and registration in the Icelandic Transport Authority's vessel registry. On a no-quota permit the rods are limited by passenger capacity: under 20 passengers, 7 rods and 49 fish per day.

With 20 to 49 passengers, up to 15 rods and 60 fish. Over 50 passengers, 25 rods and 75 fish. Those caps are per vessel, not per person.

A permit with catch quota allows up to 10 tons per vessel, all catch weighed and registered, and only this permit type may sell the fish. Source: island.is.

Where the Boats Leave

Reykjavik is the busiest departure point, with shared boats working Faxaflói Bay on short trips from the Old Harbour. The Westfjords are the multi-day corner of the country, with self-drive cod boats out of Suðureyri, Flateyri, Bolungarvík and Súðavík. North Iceland has Dalvík, Hauganes and Húsavík, where sheltered Eyjafjörður keeps the water calm.

Stykkishólmur on Snæfellsnes fishes Breiðafjörður from traditional boats, and the Westman Islands offer angling beside puffin trips. The table sums up the regions, where boats leave, the main catch and the seasons stated by the sources. For a month-by-month view of every fishery, see the fishing calendar.

Which Region Fits You

Short on time, base yourself in Reykjavik and take a half-day boat with the catch grilled on deck. Want big cod and a real holiday, look at a self-drive Westfjords package with cabin accommodation. Nervous about swell, pick the north: Hauganes fishes Eyjafjörður, sheltered from the open North Atlantic, and the Westfjords fjords offer wind-protected water when the open ocean is rough.

Snæfellsnes and the Westman Islands suit road-trippers who want one angling morning inside a wider trip. Compare all Iceland fishing tours to see how saltwater seats stack up against river and lake days.

The Reykjavik Trips

All of them are shared-boat trips of 2.5 to 3.5 hours with rods, tackle and waterproof clothing supplied, and every one cooks your catch on board or back at the harbour. Prices below are the lowest listed rates on the booking platforms. Pickup is only included on one trip, so check the meeting point before you book.

Every tour can be moved or cancelled for wind and swell.

How to Choose

Want the cheapest and simplest, take the Special Tours boat at $162, the most-reviewed listing here, with the catch grilled on deck. Want a small group and a ride from your hotel, the 12-passenger Traditional Sea Fishing trip at $168 is the only one with pickup included. Want the longest session, the Sea Angling Gourmet runs 3 to 3.5 hours and barbecues the catch with homemade sauce.

The Guided Sea Angling Tour at $179 runs on the Jóhanna, a traditional Icelandic boat with an indoor cabin and a restroom, a real plus in cold weather, and it teaches the basics on board with blankets and coffee thrown in. The Special Tours 17:00 sailing needs at least two bookings to sail. Source: Special Tours, Elding, Guide to Iceland.

Hands-On or Hands-Free

A sea angling trip is active. You hold a rod, work the line, handle the fish and, on most boats, eat what you catch. It suits anglers, curious beginners and anyone who wants a task to do for three hours.

Whale watching is the opposite. You sit or stand at the rail, scan for fins and let the crew do the work. It suits families with small children, guests who struggle with long concentration and non-anglers travelling with an angler.

Neither trip is a better deal in the abstract. Fishing gives you a meal and a story about your own catch, while whale watching gives you the chance of a large animal and little else to manage. If your group is split, book each half on the trip it will enjoy and meet at the harbour afterwards.

One Reykjavik portal frames the choice the same way, as hands-on fishing for anglers against low-effort wildlife viewing for families. Source: Reykjavik Deep Sea Fishing.

The Combo Option in the North

If you cannot choose, one boat does both. The whale watching and sea angling tour from Hauganes sails Eyjafjörður, about 30 km north of Akureyri, and fits angling and wildlife into one outing. Guide to Iceland describes the Hauganes version as a 2 hour trip.

The listing compared on this site runs about 3.5 hours at $100, so read the duration on the booking page before you plan the rest of the day. The combo is a poor fit for Reykjavik-only itineraries, since Hauganes is a long drive from the capital. For a Reykjavik stay, the fishing boats on this page and a separate whale trip are the practical pairing.

Remember that weather can move either sailing, so keep one spare day if your schedule allows it. Source: Guide to Iceland.

Confirmed Prices

Seat prices are published on the booking listings: the bookable Reykjavik boats on this site run $162 to $188, and the Hauganes whale watching and angling combo is $100. Elding publishes no fare on its own page, so the price is read at checkout. Whole-boat charters and the Westfjords self-drive holidays are sold as packages with no price on the pages found, so you request a quote.

The table lines up the seats you can book today, from the cheapest to the longest session.

Unpublished and Unverified Figures

A guide site quotes full-day group charters at 85,000 to 120,000 ISK around Reykjavik, 95,000 to 140,000 ISK from the Westman Islands and 75,000 to 100,000 ISK on the north coast. No operator confirms those ranges, so treat them as ballpark only. Iceland Sea Angling runs more than 20 boats in Bolungarvík and Súðavík carrying up to 6 passengers each and publishes no price, booking goes through partners or by phone.

The same applies to the smaller Westfjords operators, Fisk Club in Suðureyri, Beffa Tours in Bíldudalur, West Tours in Ísafjörður and Westfjords Adventures in Patreksfjörður. For those, you contact the operator and ask. A Reykjavik portal claiming a 15 kg daily catch limit per angler matches no rule on the official permit page and should not be trusted.

Source: Whale Watching Hauganes, Iceland Sea Angling, Visit Westfjords.

How the Trips Work

Self-drive Westfjords cod trips use Icelandic-built Seigla boats fitted with GPS plotter, radio and safety gear, and guided days are optional. One person per boat must hold a valid Coastal Motorboat Licence, so arrange that before you travel. The season runs April to September.

Cod are listed from April to September with the peak in April to June, at a range of 5 to 70 lb and an average around 20 lb. Spring skrei cod average 20 to 40 lb, with fish over 60 lb landed each year. Plaice, coalfish and wolffish fill out the season, with wolffish from April to July and coalfish strongest July to September.

The outfitter marketing this formats it as a week with charter flights from Reykjavik to Ísafjörður, fishing days and cabins included. Sources on exact numbers are operator pages, so confirm details when booking.

Bases and Operators

Flateyri is one base, with halibut and cod packages sold from the village, nine self-catering cabins near the boats, and packages running from Wednesday around noon to Tuesday afternoon including the charter flight to Ísafjörður. Flateyri sits 20 minutes from Ísafjörður and Suðureyri. Iceland Sea Angling runs over 20 boats and apartments in Bolungarvík and Súðavík, with boats carrying up to 6 passengers and no price published, booking via partners or by phone.

The directory also lists Fisk Club in Suðureyri, Beffa Tours in Bíldudalur with a boat for up to 7 passengers, West Tours in Ísafjörður and Westfjords Adventures in Patreksfjörður. Sportquest, the operator behind the self-drive packages, is a foreign outfitter, so compare its quote against booking locally. Source: Sportquest Holidays, Iceland Sea Angling, Visit Westfjords.

How Big the Cod Get

On a three-hour Reykjavik trip, expect a bucket of modest cod, haddock and pollock rather than a record. The big fish live farther out and farther north. One Westfjords outfitter says cod over 50 lb are landed regularly each season.

Treat that as the outfitter's own claim for its camps, not a promise for any single day. It also matches what the Westfjords section above says about spring skrei cod. A visitor on a short boat should plan for fish that fill a plate, and a visitor on a self-drive week can reasonably hope for a fish that fills a photo.

Halibut also grow very large in these waters, but the halibut rules covered earlier still apply, so a hooked halibut goes back alive. Source: Sportquest Holidays.

Gear on Private Charters

Anglers who charter a whole boat or head offshore will meet heavier tackle than the short tours use. One offshore guide lists bottom fishing with 30-50 lb rods, leads of 300-800 g and pirks of 200-500 g, and says most charters supply the gear. That guide also names ling and tusk on rocky bottoms at 150-300 m and redfish at 200-400 m, depths a short harbour trip never reaches.

Ask the skipper what is on board before you pack your own rods. Carrying tackle from abroad adds the freshwater disinfection rules covered earlier, so leaving your rods at home often saves effort. If you only want a taste of sea angling, the Reykjavik trips supply rods, tackle and waterproof clothing without any of this.

Source: Atlas Iceland.

North Iceland

Dalvík's Arctic Sea Tours runs a sea angling trip of 1 to 6 hours with equipment, protective clothing and a grilled-fish tasting at the harbour, on request all year. Its 3-hour whale watching tour includes 15 minutes of sea angling and departs daily at 13:00 all year. Hauganes, 25 minutes from Akureyri on the west shore of Eyjafjörður, sails two oak boats on a fjord sheltered from the open North Atlantic.

Catch there is cod, haddock, pollock and wolffish, and weather cancellations earn a full refund or a new date. Húsavík's Gentle Giants, family-run since 2002, lists sea angling among its tours beside whale watching and kayaking, with no price or duration published for the angling trip. The bookable Hauganes combo is the whale watching and sea angling tour at $100.

Snæfellsnes and the Westman Islands

On Snæfellsnes, Stykkishólmur offers an angling tour with a local guide on a traditional Icelandic fishing boat in Breiðafjörður, targeting cod with a chance of halibut, wolffish, haddock and ocean perch. Ocean Adventures also runs Puffin Express and sea angling from the same harbour. Sea Angling Stapi is listed at Grundarslóð 10 in Snæfellsbær with a phone number, but operating details were not confirmed.

Regional material says sea angling has long been popular in Ólafsvík, close to good grounds. On the Westman Islands, a travel guide lists Eydís Boat Tours as offering sea angling beside its boat tours, meeting at Guesthouse Hreiðrið on Faxastígur. That listing is undated, so confirm it runs before you plan a day around it.

Source: North Iceland, The Abroad Guide, Frommer's.

Is There Sea Fishing All Year

Yes, in a limited way. Guide to Iceland says sea fishing is available year-round, with summer by far the most popular time. In practice that means charters and a few small operators, not the shared Reykjavik boats that stop in September.

The earlier region table shows the clearest example, where Dalvík angles on request all year. A winter trip depends on a skipper agreeing to sail, so the day is yours only if the forecast allows it. Daylight is short, the sea is colder and the swell is usually bigger.

Book winter fishing as a private outing, ask what the boat does if the weather turns, and keep a second date free. Source: Guide to Iceland.

Offshore Cod From September

One offshore guide calls September to April the best period for offshore cod, with fish typically between 5 and 15 kg. It adds that winter fishing is possible but weather-dependent. That is a single guide's view, so treat it as a charter-only option and not a standing tour you can book from a list.

If you want cod at that size, the realistic routes are a private charter or a Westfjords outfitter, since the shared Reykjavik trips are closed by then. For a first sea trip with children or nervous passengers, the summer boats remain the sensible choice. For an angler who already knows a heavy rod, the shoulder season can be worth the extra planning.

Source: Atlas Iceland.

When to Go

Reykjavik boats sail May to September. Special Tours runs daily at 17:00 from the start of May to 15 September, and Elding lists 1 May to 20 September. The Westfjords cod season is April to September, peaking April to June, which is the best window for a big skrei or a 40 lb fish.

In the north, Dalvík angles on request all year, so a winter trip is possible if the boat sails. Coalfish peak in July, wolffish run April to July, and mackerel has no published angling season at all. One guide says May to September has the most consistent weather overall.

If your trip is about fish plus comfort rather than records, late June through August gives warmth, long evenings.

Seasickness and What to Wear

All listed trips are weather-dependent and sailings cannot be guaranteed. No operator publishes a seasickness policy, so plan ahead. Motion-sickness tablets taken 30 to 60 minutes before departure are the standard advice, and one listing warns that anyone prone to seasickness should skip the open-bay trip.

If swell worries you, book a fjord instead: Hauganes fishes sheltered Eyjafjörður and the Westfjords fjords stay calm when the open ocean is rough. Dress in layers with a waterproof shell and non-slip footwear. Operators supply protective clothing or rain jackets, and one Reykjavik operator advises warm clothes and sunscreen in summer because the sun reflects off the water.

The evening trips get cold even in July, and Viggson Sailing hands out blankets for a reason. Source: Special Tours, North Iceland, Atlas Iceland.

Finding the Boat

Most Reykjavik trips leave from the Old Harbour area, and the exact spot differs by operator. Special Tours meets guests at its ticket office at Geirsgata 11. Elding boats leave from Ægisgarður 5c, 101 Reykjavik, and Elding asks guests to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before departure.

There is no parking at the harbour itself. Pay-to-park spaces and a garage sit nearby, so allow time to find a space if you drive. Where a paid pickup is offered, it starts 60 minutes before the trip.

Check the meeting point on your voucher, because the two addresses above are not interchangeable. Bring valid ID, which Special Tours asks for at check-in. Source: Special Tours, Elding, Elding FAQ.

What Is Usually Included

The shared boats follow a common pattern. The Special Tours trip lists the guide crew, rods and equipment, protective clothing, a barbecue on board and a toilet on board, with guiding in English. That matches the supplied rods and waterproof clothing noted for the other boats in the table above.

If a toilet matters to you, check the listing before booking, since smaller traditional boats vary. Children are covered by safety gear too. Elding's general boat tour rules require guests under 13 to wear life vests, though that is a company-wide policy and not an angling-specific rule.

Source: Special Tours, Elding FAQ.

Weather, Minimum Passengers and Refunds

Two things can stop a sailing. The first is weather. On Elding boat tours, weather cancellations can be made up to 2 hours before departure, with a reschedule or a full refund, and booking is free to cancel until 24 hours before.

The second is low numbers. Special Tours needs at least 2 passengers per departure, and if that is not reached the trip is rescheduled or refunded in full. Always read the policy on the listing you book, because these are two operators' rules and not one standard.

For seasickness, Elding suggests sitting toward the back, facing the waves, keeping your eye on the horizon and eating a light meal. It supplies free antiemetics and ginger tablets on its boat tours. Source: Elding FAQ, Special Tours.

Shore Fishing Without a Boat

Shore angling at sea with rod and hand line needs no permit, the same as boat fishing. Landowners' rights apply, so respect fenced ground and private property along the coast, and the catch cannot be sold. One guide quotes a rod-hire pier option at Reykjavik's Old Harbour at about 30 USD an hour, though no operator confirms that figure, so ask at the harbour when you arrive.

Bring weight-appropriate gear for casting into swell and watch the surf line. Shore fishing pairs well with a car trip around the Snæfellsnes peninsula or the Westfjords, where fishing villages sit minutes apart.

Keeping the Catch

Most fishing tours let you keep the fish, filleted aboard. Some grill it on board with potatoes and sauce, others pan-fry it back at the harbour or have a restaurant cook it. Tours holding a quota permit may sell fish, no-quota tours cannot, which means your fish is yours.

On the daily cap, a no-quota boat is limited to 49, 60 or 75 fish per vessel per day depending on its size, a fleet limit rather than a personal one. Taking fish home is murkier. No Icelandic rule on exporting a recreational sea catch was found.

Customs allows travellers to import up to 10 kg of food duty-free, but that covers goods coming into Iceland, not leaving it. Anglers' forum posts report flying home with frozen fillets in insulated boxes, and one Westfjords outfitter quotes up to 20 kg of filleted fish for its camps. Ask your operator what it packs before you fly.

Source: island.is, Guide to Iceland, Skatturinn.