The seasonal fishing off the south-west of Iceland has been excellent and HB Grandi’s fresher trawlers have been making good landings. The emphasis has been on fishing good-quality spring season saithe, and this has been going well this trip, according to Viðey’s skipper Kristján Gíslason.
‘We’re fishing on the Eldey Bank and although the saithe are pretty dispersed, we’ve been fishing well. This is large, top-quality fish and the average weight we have been getting is 4.5kg,’ he said when we spoke to him at the end of last week.
Right now is the best time for redfish on the HB Grandi fleet’s home grounds and fishing for cod has also been good for those who choose to chase cod.
‘We know where redfish is mostly to be caught, and the same goes for cod. If we go to the edge of the Eldey Bank and into the Jökull Deeps at 155 to 120 fathoms, we could pick up any amount of cod. There’s a lot of fishing on cod and even the trawlers from the north are fishing here off the south.’
Kristján Gíslason said that it has been a surprise that there has been so little cod on the Selvogur Bank. On the other hand, there has been good fishing along the edge and practically all the way up to the beach.
‘This is undoubtedly down to the migration pattern of what capelin there is that’s making its way westwards,’ he said.
Viðey is expected to be alongside in Reykjavík today, although the schedule depends to an extent on the catch rate. In the previous trip Viðey’s crew landed practically a full fishroom, 190 tonnes for four days, while normally they allow for five days’ fishing in a trip.
