HB Grandi’s factory trawler Örfirisey RE docked in Reykjavík yesterday morning after four weeks on fishing grounds with a catch of around 580 tonnes of raw fish that yielded approximately 330 tonnes of frozen product with a value of 140 million Is Kr.
‘We were mainly looking for redfish and mostly on southern grounds. Although we also had a look off the Westfjords. The fishing was reasonable and the redfish is looking promising,’ said skipper Trausti Egilsson. The bulk of Örfirisey’s catch is deep water redfish (Sebastes mentella), while there is some golden redfish (Sebastes marinus), in the catch, along with 90 tonnes of cod.
This spring Örfirisey was fitted out with a third trawl winch so that it would be possible to tow two trawls together, and this was the first trip that the new arrangement has been used for virtually the whole four-week trip.
‘We have been getting to grips with twin rig trawling and, as we had expected, there were a few problems to start with. It has taken a while to get used to it, but I’m satisfied with our results for this trip,’ Trausti Egilsson said, commenting that he has seen a clear difference in results at what he calls a ‘good redfish depth.’
‘On the other hand, it isn’t just about increasing catches. It’s much more a question of balancing catch rate against fuel consumption, and this has shown that by using twin rig gear instead of a single trawl, we are able to work economically on redfish on grounds where a single trawl wasn’t efficient enough in relation to the fuel cost,’ he said.
Örfirisey is fishing with two Hampidjan L80 trawls, each of which has a 50 metre headline. 4.50 tonne trawl doors are used with a 6.50 tonne centre weight towed on the middle warp
