This year’s autumn capelin survey of waters to the east of Greenland is currently in progress, and is a collaborative initiative by the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) in Iceland and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR). Similar surveys have been carried out since 1978.
The survey was begun by Greenlandic research vessel Tarajoq in August, and Icelandic research vessel Árni Friðriksson joined the survey last week to cover waters between Iceland and Greenland. Tarajoq’s survey is scheduled to take 21 days, while Árni Friðriksson is expected to be at sea for 17 days.
In total, the vessels are planned to cover 7850 nautical miles.
The survey aims to estimate the abundance of both the immature and mature parts of the capelin stock in the Iceland-East Greenland-Jan Mayen area (IEGJM).
Since 2018, the survey has been adapted to an ecosystem– allowing researchers to collect and gain further information on capelin biology and the surrounding pelagic ecosystem. This involves sampling and measurements of phytoplankton, mesozooplankton, macrozooplankton, pelagic fish species and the physical environment in the area.
MFRI has this year increased the contribution to ecological studies with the participation of four whale observers, two on each vessel. The resulting whale counts along the tracks can be followed here.
It is expected that the results of the capelin measurements will be available around mid-October. MFRI will then release revised fishing advice for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
