She felt immediately part of the community

Undoubtedly, readers will enjoy hearing the story of Magdalena Tatala, but 200 miles reported in January that she had taken over the position of director of the Arctic Fish feed center in the Westfjords.

Magdalena was born in Poland but has been well -versed in Iceland and her family benefited from the great growth that has been in Icelandic aquaculture, but household members enjoy themselves extremely well in Thingeyri and the future seems bright.

« I first came to Iceland in 2016 and was 18 years old. I knew very little about Iceland and did not even have an idea of ​​what the days can be short in winter and long in the summer in such northern regions. This was a semi -coincidence, but I was offered to work as an au pair for two months with a family in Akureyri, ”says Magdalena in an interview in February paper 200 miles.

« It never happened to be extended, but I just wanted to experience a new culture and then return to Poland to complete my studies, but then it happened that I was offered the work of fish processing in Thingeyri and one led by another. »

Love played a major role in Magdalena taking root in Iceland, but in the Westfjords she found her husband, who is also of Polish origin and worked in the fishing industry. « I can't deny that in the early years it was up to me to return to Poland and life could be challenging, but it helped a lot how warm the reception was in Thingeyri and I did not experience myself as a stranger and immigrant but as part of a good community. It also made it easier for me to take root here that the fish processing was not required to speak English, so I could have some income right from the start. « 

Still, the fish processing work did not have a strong effort with Magdalena, so she changed her job and decided to work in kindergarten and at the on -site swimming pool, and she laughs laughing when she sat at the swimming pool and couldn't understand but simply answered « yes » to what was said.

It wasn't long before a baby came in the picture. Magdalena was twenty when she had her first child and added another three years later. « It was tight in our estate, as the salary was not high at the swimming pool and the kindergarten, but together we could afford to rent a small apartment where we could raise our children. Still, I saw that I needed to change strategy and draft a better future. « 

Got infected by the interest

The big change came in 2023 when Magdalena got a job at Arctic Fish, but her husband had already joined the company and encouraged Magdalena to look at the possibilities there. « I didn't know anything about aquaculture, but he necessarily wanted me to try, and I was finally interviewed, » says Magdalena the story. « There I talked for a good 40 minutes with Helga Snæ Ragnarsson, who was then the director of the feed center, and he spoke with such a great passion about the aquaculture that I could not help but be infected with interest. »

Magdalena immediately knew herself in the new place and did not damage her in wages, but it also became clear that in the aquaculture, her valuable growth opportunities were waiting. In Poland, Magdalena had completed the equivalent of a student's degree, but she had to improve her education in Iceland in order to study at the university level. First, she enrolled in the Aquaculture Department of the Fish Technology School, and at the Ísafjörður High School, she got some additional units to reach the Icelandic student exam. Then we took distance learning at Hólar University, where a powerful aquaculture department is run.

« I could not promise my studies at Hólar enough, and my experience there has been extremely good. The program blends with distance learning and field teaching and has been particularly gratifying to go with my fellow students to visits to farms here and there, ”she says.

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The job of the director of feed center is a major responsibility role and although the feeding is remote controlled from land through automatic equipment, the work calls for considerable knowledge and certain sensitivity to the needs of the fish. « It needs to be monitored very carefully, monitor the condition of the fish and obviously ensure that the aquaculture stations are received on time all the resources they need, and the planning is therefore considerable. »

It does not matter how the fish is fed and needs to ensure that the feed is useful. Magdalena says that the behavior of the fish can vary greatly by cattle and for example it is not possible to distribute feed in all cattle at the same time of the day. « The fish in one heifer could be more impressed with the feed in the afternoon, but the fish in another heifer uses the feed better if it is distributed early in the morning. You quickly see in this job that the salmon can be quite clever fish and it seems good to him to have a certain rule on things. « 

Arrived in a large and beautiful house

The little family in Thingeyri is very pleased with their lot today. Magdalena says that thanks to the aquaculture, the income of the home has improved significantly and the children are very good. « On the wages I had before, we could never have been able to buy us a big and beautiful house that goes much better about us than in the rental apartment where we lived before. The situation would be different if it was not for Arctic Fish and it would then apply to us and many others who live here in the area that there was simply no good jobs to get. « 

Although Magdalena still cultivated the relationship with Poland, she now says it is clear that she is not leaving Iceland in the near future. « We have been here for so long and find out what the relationship has become strong. So this is also a very good place to raise children and I think it is a complete loan for the kids to grow here from the grass. Here we feel we are at home. « 

The interview first appeared in February paper 200 miles.