Samherji

Samherji hf. is a vertically integrated seafood company in Iceland that operates in fishing, fish processing, land-based aquaculture and sales. It is the largest fishing company in Iceland, and one of the largest in Europe. Samherji's headquarters are in Akureyri, but the company operates in many locations in Iceland.

The company, in its current form, was established in 1983 when its founders, Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, Kristján Vilhelmsson, and Þorsteinn Vilhelmsson, acquired all shares in Samherji hf., based in Grindavík. The primary asset of Samherji hf. was the trawler Guðsteinn GK, which the founders converted into the freezer trawler Akureyrin EA. The predecessor company was founded in 1972.

At the end of 2023, Samherji had 958 employees at the group level. Its subsidiary, Ice Fresh Seafood ehf., handles sales of all its products. The subsidiary Samherji fiskeldi ehf. (Samherji Fish Farming) operates land-based fish farming and has successfully farmed Arctic char and salmon for over two decades. The company has grown into an industry leader in land-based aquaculture and is currently the world’s largest producer of Arctic char, supplying 30% of the total market. One of Samherji's subsidiaries is the sales company Seagold Ltd. in England, led by Gústaf Baldvinsson.

Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, one of the founders, has been Samherji's CEO since the company's inception in 1983. Baldvinsson resumed that role in February of 2021 after having stepped down on 14 November 2019, with Björgólfur Jóhannesson acting as CEO in the interim.

In January 2023, Samherji Ísland ehf., a subsidiary of Samherji hf., controlled 7,27% of the transferable quotas in the Icelandic fisheries sector.