Heiðar Marteinsson

The Floating, Fishing, Freezing Plant

A film about a new type of trawler which processes its catch on board. There is a great demand for fish which is processed with this method and many believe these vessels to be the future of deep sea fishing. This film is shot on board one of these trawlers, Hólmadrangur, and deals mainly with the processing of the fish below deck.

Herring Fishing

This film shows three different methods for catching herrings which Icelanders have used in the past century. The use of the nets is illustrated with animated graphics and then matched with live action on board. Live footage is shot off the south and east coast of Iceland.

Deep Sea Trawler Fishing

Fishing on board a modern stern trawler is the subject of this film. It is shot in the North Atlantic from 1979-1982, in all seasons and includes some sequences that are shot in extremely bad weather conditions in the winter of 1981. Different types of trawlers are shown and the landing of the catch in harbours in Iceland and Germany.

Lobster Fishing

Shot on board a boat from the Westman Islands, this film covers a typical fishing trip. Follows the three-man crew of this small vessel at their work: hauling in the net, gathering up the catch of lobster from the decks, and stowing it away on ice in special barrels.

Capelin and Driftnet Fishing

A film about a typical winter season on board an Icelandic fishing boat. The boat, Gunnar Jónsson, starts off from the Westman Islands and is at first mainly engaged in capelin fishing for fishmeal production. When January comes, the men start preparing for the traditional cod fishing period.

Eruption Aftermath

The story of salvage operations in the wake of the 1973 Westman Island eruption. The 5.000 inhabitants were evacuated in a matter of hours as lava and ash destroyed a large part of the town. The fight with the encroaching lava; dramatic night shots of the erupting volcano; the massive clean-up task after the eruption. The town is once more Iceland's busiest fishing port.