Many of the smaller rivers are doing well

Fishing in many of the country’s smaller salmon rivers has been good this summer, with the best fishing reported in the Andakílsá and Hrútafjarðará rivers. Last week, River Hrútafjarðará yielded 61 salmon, while River Andakilsá produced 53, marking their best season in several years.

On Friday the 13th, the Andakilsá River had a total of 438 salmon. A few years ago, an environmental disaster occurred in the river when sediment from the Andakil’s-Power Station reservoir flowed into the river, filling up the fishing grounds and spawning areas. Efforts were made to clean the river and increase the salmon population, which has yielded positive results. However, in 2023, like most rivers, the river was not exceptional, with only 177 salmon caught. 

Last Friday, River Hrútafjarðará saw a total of 420 salmon caught, bringing immense joy to the river’s enthusiasts. This marks the best fishing season in eight years. Fishing in the river was poor last year, with only 185 salmon caught. Fifty of them were farmed salmon that had escaped from Arctic Fish. The current situation is different, and there is still plenty of the season left. 

Here is a list of 10 smaller salmon rivers that have shown a significant increase in fishing numbers compared to last year and previous years. The data provided is based on fishing activities up to September 11th. The second column shows the fishing activity in these rivers at the same time last year. The third column indicates the number of salmon caught during the week of September 4th to 11th. The final column displays the percentage change between years, where that figure is provided.

River                   Catch 2024   2023      Week    Change %

Anda­kílsá                   438         143          53          —

Hrúta­fjarðará             420          145          61       192%

Sval­b­arðsá                 402         311          30          —

Flóka­dalsá                 386          233          30           —

Hauka­dalsá                383         324          24         23% 

Skjálf­andafljót            376          —             3          —

Sandá í Þistil­f­irði        363          336          14         15%

Mýr­arkvísl                  347          207         34           —

Hítará                        339          301          16           —

Straum­fjarðará           315          301         36           7%

Image/Nice salmon that was caught in the river Andakilsá last week

A summary made from a news item from mbl/Sporðaköst