With pelagic vessel Börkur due to land this morning, the roe phase of the capelin season is about to begin, with production set to begin today.
The roe production facilities at Síldarvinnslan’s Neskaupstaður plant are ready, and Börkur is expected to discharge 2000 tonnes of capelin, taken in four shots off the west of Iceland, close to the end of the migration. Roe production marks the later part of each capelin season, when capelin roe reaches the ideal maturity for the high-value Japanese market.
The factory in Neskaupstaður has already produced 10,000 tonnes of frozen male capelin this season, plus 6500 tonnes of female fish, of which 5100 tonnes are for the Japanese market.
Börkur’s skipper Herbert Jónsson commented that they have been aware of capelin over a wide area west of Iceland, and that capelin are clearly joining the migration from the west, while there is also capelin to be found east of the Westman Islands. He said that Börkur’s catch is 50-57% female fish with a roe content of around 24%.
According to production manager Geir Sigurpáll Hlöðversson, the production facility has been scrubbed high and low as preparation for the roe season, after which staff have been given a break ahead of Börkur’s arrival with the first roe capelin of this season.
