The Competition Authority received a submission on 25 May 2011 from the Association of Fish Producers and Exporters (SFÚ). The letter demanded that the Competition Authority order a financial separation, in accordance with Article 14 of the Competition Act, between the fishing and fish processing operations of companies that engage in both fishing and the processing of seafood. The submission also complained of the alleged abuse of a dominant market position by certain fishing companies and their alleged illegal collusion, in breach of Articles 10 and 11 of the Competition Act. The Competition Authority concluded the case on 19 November 2012 by decision No. 28/2012 where it was concluded that there were no grounds for intervention in respect of the SFÚ's submission. The investigation of the matter, however, resulted in the Competition Authority issuing an opinion No. 2/2012 to the Minister for Industry and Innovation, in which the Minister was urged to reduce the competitive problems arising from the legal framework for fisheries in Iceland.
The SFÚ disagreed with the Competition Authority's conclusion that there were no grounds to require financial separation between fishing and processingand processing division of fishing companies that both engage in fishing and the processing of seafood, and therefore appealed the part of the decision concerning Article 14 of the Competition Act to the Competition Appeals Board. The Competition Appeal Board has now upheld the decision of the Competition Authority. The board reached its conclusion in the case No. 7/2012 hunting licences and fishing rights in accordance with the law No. 116/2006 that the management of fisheries does not constitute a public monopoly or protection within the meaning of Article 14 of the Competition Act, and therefore there are no grounds for applying financial separation in the case. The Appeal Board also did not find that the Competition Authority had breached administrative law, as SFÚ had claimed.
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