Salmon egg producer’s staff and fish safe from eruption

The chief executive of salmon ova producer Benchmark Genetics Iceland says the volcanic eruption that began yesterday north of the town of Grindavík on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland has not affected the business, which has premises on the peninsula.

“All employees of Benchmark are safe and so is our fish and ova,” Benedikt Hálfdanarson said in a post on LinkedIn.

“Our sites in Vogavík and Kalmanstjörn are placed within a safe distance from the lava flow. At the moment the lava is not heading in direction of Grindavík, we sure hope for the best for the resilient people and businesses in the area.”

Benchmark Iceland has its largest broodstock farm and an incubation centre at Vogavík, and its second largest broodstock facility at Kalmanstjörn.

Outside risk area

"As far as the outbreak is concerned, both of these two facilities are outside what is classified as the risk area. Especially in Kalmanstjörn, there are no cracks and there has been no volcanic activity for hundreds or thousands of years. It is unlikely that it will be affected," Hálfdanarson told LandbasedAQ, one of Fish Farming Expert's Norwegian sister sites.

"The plant in Vogavik is a little closer, but it is still 10 kilometres from that plant in a direct line to the volcanic eruption."

The chief executive said geologists have pointed out that volcanic eruptions can be strongest at the beginning, but it is expected that the activity will decrease over time.

"These experts have also indicated that this is probably the start of what will be more outbreaks in the coming decades. Our facilities are well mapped for this scenario and are located far away from likely cracks."

Normal operations

Operations at the facilities - both for broodstock and ova - are ongoing as usual. Hálfdanarson said Benchmark's customers will receive ova according to set delivery schedules, and that the eggs will maintain the expected quality. 

He said that the area has had four volcanic eruptions in the last three years. During this time, Benchmark has made extensive preparations to handle various scenarios. These include securing oxygen supplies, and purchasing large oil reserves and generators to ensure continuous power in the event of power outages. The company has also acquired gas masks and other equipment for the employees in case evacuation becomes necessary due to toxic gases.

No ash

Hálfdanarson said that smoke from the volcano is currently blowing towards the sea. There is also no ash in the air and there is therefore little probability that the local airport in Keflavik will close. Nevertheless, Benchmark has established alternative shipping methods, based on the adaptations made during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hálfdanarson also addressed the potential impacts on water sources and the supply of fresh water. 

"The water we use is pumped up from deep underground, so both our salt water and fresh water sources must will be good. If the eruption were to continue for many months, however, it could possibly end up affecting the water sources. We are keeping a close eye on this and have already started measuring in order to map out any changes in the future. However, it is a very long time before there will be a possible problem," he concluded.

200m³ of lava per second

The eruption started north of Grindavík at 22:17 local time (22:17 GMT) on Monday, the BBC reported.

Images and videos posted on social media showed lava bursting from the volcano just an hour after an earthquake swarm, a series of seismic events, was detected.

The length of the crack in the volcano is about 3.5km, with the lava flowing at a rate of around 100 to 200 cubic metres per second, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said, adding that this was many times more than recent eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula.

The eruption can be seen from Reykjavik, which is about 42km (26 miles) northeast of Grindavik.