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Svinaskalastekkur is an abandoned farm in the Helgustada County on the Reydarfjordur Bay.
In 1904, Asgeir Asgeirsson, a merchant from Village Isafjordur in the northwest, started whaling and whale processing there. The cutters were all Norwegian, but the county benefited much from those activities. The spot, where the whalers dropped the processed carcasses of the whales in the bay, became important for shark fishing. The people in the surrounding area preserved the whale meat and fat by cooking it and putting it in whey. The last few years of the operation, the whales were processed in a meat meal factory for guano.
Professor Richard Beck (1897-1979), who lived in Canada most of his lifetime, was born at Svinaskalastekkur. He left behind a big collection of literature and poetry and was bestowed an honourary doctorate by the University of Iceland in 1961.
Photo Credit: Visitfjardarbyggd.is
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