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Þorbjórn Víglundssen commandeers my notebook and pen to teach me exactly how a trawler works. It requires diagrams.

The net behind him is a 500 metre long tube. Thick cables extend it behind the ship, and large steel “trawl doors” keep its mouth open. Crew members control its depth from the bridge, and they use a combination of experience and technology to find the fish and maneuver the net around them.

Þorbjórn and Petur agree that the water is warming and the old patterns are changing, which makes older knowledge less useful. “Someone from 15 years ago might not know [where to find the fish], but someone who has been working with the changes will know.” Next we’ll meet the man we came all the way here to see. He runs the fish factory where the catch is headed.

Photo Eric Guth