The Spirit of Iceland At Home in Seattle
(SEATTLE) — August 26, 2009 — Seattle will host a Viking invasion and celebrate Icelandair’s new nonstop service between Seattle and Reykjavík with A Taste of Iceland! The event including Icelandic music, cuisine, film and academics comes to town from September 10 to 13. Commemorating this unique occasion and celebrating Seattle's new direct link to Iceland, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has proclaimed September 9-14, 2009 as Iceland Days in Seattle.
A Taste of Iceland, a multi-day cultural program, will include a variety of public events, such as a live musical performance, Icelandic culinary promotion, a film festival and a presentation about Iceland’s dedication to sustainable fisheries. A Taste of Iceland is presented by Iceland Naturally, in cooperation with Icelandic USA, Inc., Icelandair, 66° North, The Blue Lagoon, Reyka Vodka, Icelandic Glacial, KEXP, the University of Washington, Ray’s Boathouse, The Crocodile and The Varsity movie theater.
The Event hosted by the University of Washington is:
The Icelandic Project on Documenting and Communicating Responsible Fisheries on Thursday, September 10, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the University of Washington (Health Sciences Building, Hogness Auditorium Room A420, free admission).
 A lecture on responsible fisheries will be held at the UW during the Iceland celebration in Seattle. |
Few nations are as dependent upon sustainable fisheries as Iceland, making it of prime importance to harvest fish stocks responsibly and sustainably.
Representatives of the Icelandic fishing industry and government officials will announce a new program that will document and certify responsible fisheries.
Iceland exports about $2 billion worth of fish a year, employing about 6,000 people in fishing and fish processing, according to the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (www.fisheries.is).
Dr. Sigurgeir Thorgeirsson, Permanent Secretary, The Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, will present an overview of the Icelandic government's
fisheries policies, followed by Daniel A. Murphy Jr., Executive Vice President, Icelandic® USA, Inc., who will discuss Iceland's project to document and communicate responsible fisheries and plans to certify the Icelandic fisheries. Following the presentations, both will participate in a panel discussion along with Hlynur Gudjonsson, Consul and Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Iceland in New York. Christine Ingebritsen, Professor of Political Science in the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington, will serve as the lecture’s moderator.
