Samherji’s pelagic vessel Margrét spent eight days waiting for blue whiting to appear on fishing grounds south of the Faroe Islands – and then filled up in just two days of heavy fishing.
Margrét landed 2000 tonnes of blue whiting in Norðfjörður earlier this week, after sailing from Akureyri on 6th April. After a call in the Faroe Islands, skipper Guðmundur Jónsson and his crew spent more than a week at sea without shooting their gear, along with a number of other fishing vessels from Iceland, The Faroes and Russia, waiting for the blue whiting to migrate northwards.
The Covid-19 pandemic played a significant role in this unusual trip and the long wait at sea is a demonstration of unusual times calling for unusual measures.
The crew had been screened for Covid-19 prior to departure, so it was not an option to return home to Iceland and try again later when conditions were better.
‘We were all very comfortable. We just waited and were fine in quarantine on board. There was no lack of entertainment,’ Guðmundur Jónsson said.
73 metre pelagic vessel Margrét EA-710 was built at Flekkefjord as Antares in 1996, and lengthened in 2009. It was acquired by Samherji in 2015.
