big news for the day is the arrival of the Vilhelm Thorsteinsson, the slogan “ICE FRESH” emblazoned in 3-meter high white letters on the hull, back to harbor after 100 days fishing near Svalbard. the boat, one of 11 owned by the Samherji cooperative based here in Akureyri has taken 7900 tons of herring, amounting to ten percent of the total quota for that particular region of the North Atlantic. The region, the Svalbard Zone, is known for both its rich fishing possibilities, and for the contentiousness of the regional bickering over who controls the fishing rights. The Icelandic government has recently supported the rights of their fishermen to resist the efforts of the Norwegian Coastguard that interfere with their fishing activities. Today, a day after steaming heavily with a high waterline into the fjord, the bulbous bow is sitting half-exposed. the herring that once sat chilled on ice in the hold is now off-loaded and beginning to make its way into the local and national economy. a cash-cow on the water. understandably, the Mayor of Akureyri, Kristjan Thor Juliusson, met the two Captains, Arngrimur Brynjolfsson and Gudmundur Jonsson with a large decorated cake.