As a result, the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) will not permit fishing of the species this coming season. Capelin is the second most important export species of fish in Iceland after cod.

The ubiquitous midge is almost completely absent from Mývatn, the pointedly named ‘Midge Lake,’ this year. Árni says this happens every seven to nine years—it’s now been about eight since the last time the midge population collapsed. As a result, the bird population will be much smaller for the next two to three years.

In a good season, Skinney’s langoustine catch can reach 250-300 tons. This summer, it was only 38.

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease, a highly infectious and often fatal disease that affects both domestic and wild rabbits has caused widespread death among rabbits in Elliðárdalur valley in Reykjavík. It is the first time the disease is detected in Iceland outside of a rabbit farm or home.

The exact species is not known. Part of the carcass has ballooned with gas, a common occurrence with beached whales.

Nine whales have been stranded so far this year in East Iceland. Bottlenose whales and Curvier’s beaked whales are members of the family Ziphiidae and it’s often been said that they are more sensitive to noise pollution in the ocean.

Fifty pilot whales were found dead on the shore of Löngufjörur in a sparsely populated part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula on Thursday, RÚV reports.