Norwegian spring-spawning herring had been known and fished for centuries along Norwegian coastal waters. In the mid-19th century, Norwegian fishermen discovered that abundant herring (largely the same stock) could be caught during summer and autumn in waters around north and east Iceland. The first bloom of the Iceland herring fishery faded in the late 1800s under pressure from a worsening climate and falling prices on European markets.

Herring fishing resumed in earnest during the early part of the 20th century and became a factor in Iceland’s remarkable climb from poverty to affluence. The international herring fishery in Icelandic waters took between 10 000 and 25 000 tons per year during the first decades of the 20th century. Much of this catch was landed and processed in Iceland. Initially, Icelandic vessels accounted for only a small fraction of the herring catch from Icelandic waters, but after 1915 they became dominant.

Djúpavík (first five panoramas) is a small village in the North-West of Iceland. It was first settled in 1917 when a herring salting factory was built there. However, due to economic depression, the site was abandoned during the 1920s. 1934 saw the resettlement of Djúpavík with the foundation of Djúpavík Ltd. in September of that year. A new factory was build (at the time of its construction it was the biggest concrete building in Iceland and one of the biggest in Europe) and despite the harsh conditions the construction was completed within the span of just one year and the factory was operational by July 1935.

Herring catches started to decline after 1944, with a sharp drop in 1948 and, despite attempts to keep the enterprise running by processing other fish besides herring, the factory closed in 1954. After this the residents moved away and the settlement was abandoned again.

The herring factory in Ingólfsfjörður (middle five panos), a fjord not far from Djúpavík to the north, was built in 1942-44. Soon after construction the catches declined and the factory was closed in 1952.

The Hjalteyri herring factory in Eyjafjörður (last five panos) was built in 1937 and abandoned in 1967.