BioPol ehf

In April 2007, the municipality of Skagastrand began conceptual work on the establishment of a marine biotechnology center in Skagaströnd in collaboration with Hjörleif Einarsson, professor at the University of Akureyri. As a continuation of the preparatory and strategic planning work, the municipality founded the marine biotechnology center Bio Pol ehf, which established a research center in collaboration with the University of Akureyri. Initial capital of BioPol ehf. was 7,000,000 ISK and the aim is that more shareholders will come to it in the coming seasons as well as to establish cooperation and connections with similar laboratories in the Atlantic Ocean. Halldór Gunnar Ólafsson, fisheries expert, was hired as the managing director of BioPol ehf. Cooperation agreements have been signed with the University of Akureyri, the Scottish Association for Marine Science, the Northern Department of the Icelandic Fisheries Agency and the Icelandic Seal Agency.

The center's core activity is based on research into the biosphere of Húnaflói. The aim of the research is focused, among other things, on the possibilities of using seafood that has not had a defined use or whose properties have not been known. The research work is also focused on environmental monitoring, with a special focus on monitoring changes in the ecosystem, factors and consequences.