Last weekend Greenlandic pelagic vessel Polar Amaroq docked in Eskifjörður to discharge roughly 700 tonnes of sea-frozen capelin – the first capelin landing to take place in Iceland for almost three years.
Both the 2019 and 2020 seasons were zero-quota years with no capelin fishing. This year an initial 61,000 tonne quota has been allocated, the bulk of which goes to Faroese and Norwegian vessels under agreements with neighbouring coastal states, although there are hopes that ongoing research will lead to an increase in the quota before long.
Polar Amaroq spent a day alongside before heading back to sea. Its catch was caught in a trip to the Trawl Box east of Iceland, mostly in three tows. The capelin caught during the trip are excellent quality with a weight of around 40 pieces per kilo, with an amount of feed in the fish.
For this trip, Polar Amaroq’s skipper was Sigurður Grétar Guðmundsson, who commented that it’s a good feeling to be fishing for capelin again.
Image: Sigurður Grétar Guðmundsson
