At the bottom of the sea are various treasures and rich biodiversity. There is a lot to eat there, but it is rare for people to pick up what they see at the bottom and put it in their mouths.
This experience is the core of the preparatory project "From diving to the stomach" ("Gourmet Diving") sponsored by AVS and which Matís has been working on this summer in collaboration with Náttúrustofa Vestfjarði, Núp ehf., Dive.is, Alan Deverell and last but not least Sveinbjörn Hjálmarsson, diver.
"The idea is to take tourists on diving trips in the Westfjords and allow them to pick up shells and more that can be eaten. They would then have their food cooked by a chef from Hotel Núpi, either on the beach when they come out of the sea or at the hotel. The food would be cooked in front of them so they could watch the whole process, "says Sveinbjörn and adds that in some places there is some flatfish that is good to catch by hand. Therefore, tourists can easily find great and good meals.
The landscape is very variable
Sveinbjörn dived and snorkeled in several places in the Westfjords together with Bjarki Sigurjónsson who was a summer student under the auspices of Matís. The goals were to find edible species, look at the locations of the upper and lower seas and make a rough assessment of how much could be picked in each place. "These places are never the same, although there may be only a hundred meters between them, the landscape is so varied. In almost every place there was something interesting to see better, both for the eye and of course the taste buds. We found a lot of scallops, scallops and sea urchins. There was also a lot of scallops, mussels, ointments that are shellfish, crayfish, solitary crabs and bait kings, to name a few. The tourists would receive instructions before going into the sea about what can be picked up and what not, in addition to which I would lead them on and point out to them what and where can be picked up, "says Sveinbjörn.
An idea that came about in the west
Ólafur Ögmundarson at Matís says that the idea is very good and that is why the company has decided to take part in the preparatory project, which could later lead to the establishment of a company that would take tourists on diving trips. "In this case, the application came to my table and I decided to apply for a grant to embark on the project. Our role has mostly revolved around project management and research implementation. Bjarki worked on this on our behalf and was under my guidance and Kristján Einarsdóttir from Náttúrustofa Vestfjarði, "says Ólafur.
"The idea is based on Alan Deverell's master's thesis. He was a student in ocean and coastal area management at the University Center of the Westfjords. It can be said that the idea originated in the area and we went further with it. The final goal is for Sveinbjörn to be able to use the final report to start a company that sells such diving trips in the Westfjords, "Ólafur concludes.
For further information Ólafur Ögmundarson at Matís.
This article first appears in the 7th issue. Ægis (www.athygli.is)