The Icelandic Directorate of Fisheries will be relocated to Akureyri, North Iceland, before the end of next year. Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson made the announcement in Akureyri on Friday.
In his June 17 National Day speech, Sigmundur said that it was important to ensure the development of rural areas.
According to Minister of Fisheries Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, 30 to 35 of a total 70 positions will be moved to Akureyri.
Employees of the directorate have released a statement harshly criticizing the move. None of directorate’s staff members are willing to move north and they argue that the office’s relocation will have serious consequences for them and their families, ruv.is reports.
Questions have been raised about the legality of relocating the office. According to Sigurður, changes were made to the law in 1999 allowing such a move. Sigurður said that the government would ensure that the move was made in a legal way.
Bjarkey Gunnarsdóttir, MP for the Left-Greens and member of the parliament’s budget committee, has requested a meeting with the committee to discuss the planned move, visir.is reports.
In 2005, the directorate was moved to Hafnarfjörður.
