Last Thursday and Friday, September 22 and 23, the new students at the master's program in Coastal and Marine Management took the annual trip to the southern West Fjords. The aim of the trip, which is organised by UW staff, is to introduce the student body to this part of the West Fjords while the highland roads are still easily passable. Furthermore, the aim is to spark an interest in potential final projects related to southern West Fjords.

The group stopped at Hrafnseyri museum, Dynjandi waterfall, and an aquaculture station in Fossfjörður. There, the group got a presentation of state-of-the-art aquaculture practises by Fjarðarlax and aquaculture research undertaken at the site by NAVE.

After lunch in Bíldudalur, the group visited the Ískalk plant, specializing in calcareous algae. There, students received a thorough introduction to extraction of algal carbon in Arnarfjörður and the operations of plant itself in Bíldudalur. After the visit, the group went to Patreksfjörður and had a dinner at the Pirate House, and overnighted in Breiðuvík.

On Friday morning, the group started the day by visiting Látrabjarg, the westernmost tip of Europe and a proposed national park. After that, the group walked along the coastline of the Rauðisandur, before returning to Patreksfjörður for lunch. After lunch, students met with the Mayor of Vesturbyggð, Ásthildur Sturludóttir, who spoke about the future vision of the municipality and the daily challenges of managing and living in a remote area all year round. After a quick stop at the local swimming pool, the group drove back to Ísafjörður.

The students were very happy to have seen the area and gotten to know a few of its current inhabitants. Some of the students will hopefully turn back there when the opportunity arises, either as researchers or tourists. 

The University Centre of the Westfjords thanks everyone involved in making the trip possible. More pictures will be made available in the coming days.