Freezer trawler Blængur docked in Neskaupstaður on Sunday night after what is believed to be best trip ever by a trawler from Norðfjörður, with a catch value of around ISK380 million (€3 million).
Blængur has been fishing in the Barents Sea since the end of April and ended the trip with 500 tonnes of frozen product on board in 27,000 cartons, equivalent to a green weight of 1450 tonnes of fish.
The trip started under skipper Theodór Haraldsson, but the crew took a break for the Seamen’s Day holiday in Iceland at the beginning of June and Bjarni Ólafur Hjálmarsson took over for the second part of the trip.
He said that the trip went well, but the fishing could have been better.
‘During the first part of the trip there were a few good hits of fish, but there was nothing like that in the second half – apart from the last day we were fishing. For the last three weeks it was pretty slow and the areas where there were the best chances of good fishing were closed due to naval manoeuvres,’ he said.
‘Because of the military activity we had to shift to the east and the furthest we went was 60 nautical miles from Novaya Zemlya. I reckon the crew are happy with this Barents Sea trip even though the fishing hasn’t been as good as it was last year. All our communications with the Russian authorities went well and it helped that Blængur’s mate, Geir Stefánsson, speaks good Russian. The Russians were surprised to find a Russian speaker on board, which is something they’re not used to seeing on foreign fishing vessels in their waters,’ Bjarni Ólafur Hjálmarsson said.
Blængur is expected to sail on Thursday once its catch has been landed in Norðfjörður.
