The last remaining distant waters trawler operating under the UK flag is heading home to Hull with a record 1000 tonnes of mainly haddock and cod fillets in its fishroom, plus fishmeal and fish oil.
Operated by UK Fisheries, a subsidiary of Alda Seafood, in turn a part of the Icelandic Samherji group, Kirkella left hull on 14th April and shot away its gear west of Bear Island on 20th April.
Fishing has been unusually good in these unpredictable northern waters, and after previous tough trips at this time of the year, the steady good fishing came as a welcome surprise for skipper Sigurbjörn Reimarsson.
‘This was unusually good fishing for the time of year, far exceeding expectations,’ he said.
Despite the steady fishing, the final few days of the trip were leaner, with the catch slowing and with time spent steaming and searching.
The catch has been processed, frozen and packed into Kirkella-branded cartons in the onboard factory, and the frozen cod fillets will soon be bound for British fish & chip shops.
Kirkella fishes with a crew of 29 working eight-hour shifts. Most are UK citizens, and many have been stalwarts of the Kirkella crew. Turnover is low, a source of pride for the operation, and several of the crew have sailed with Sigurbjörn Reimarsson for more than two decades, including on earlier vessels operated from the UK.
‘We are lucky to have such a tight-knit crew,’ he said, adding that this has certainly been one of Kirkella’s best trips in terms of volume, though the financial picture will depend on prevailing product prices. The catch is to be offloaded in Hull and Kirkella’s next trip will be on Flemish Cap, and the crew expect to sail at end of June.
