Greenlandic pelagic catcher Polar Amaroq had given up on mackerel and was on its way north of the Dohrn Bank to search for herring, and dropped into a mackerel hotspot.
According to skipper Geir Zoëga, they closed up to one of the giant icebergs on the fishing grounds and were surprised to see mackerel feeding on the surface around it, despite the low water temperature around the ice.
‘This took us completely by surprise and we shot the gear right away. In short, we had 1100 tonnes of mackerel around the iceberg in three hauls over 48 hours,’ he said.
‘This was fantastic fishing and makes a big difference to us as mackerel fishing in Greenlandic waters hasn’t been great this summer.’
He commented that the mackerel were unusually large fish at 560-570 grammes each.
‘I’ve never seen an average size like that. This shows us that the mackerel can stay in cold water. Up to now we have been fishing for mackerel in the Herring Loophole and have done pretty well. We’ve landed in the Faroes and have caught and processed 2300 tonnes in twelve days.’
