With the outlook for the winter capelin season still unclear, the Icelandic pelagic fleet has started 2025 on blue whiting.
Research vessel Árni Friðriksson and fishing vessels Polar Ammassak, Heimaey and Barði are currently engaged in a survey to map capelin distribution. There are hopes that enough can be located for a quota to be allocated for this season – although by now fishing is normally well underway.
Instead the pelagic fleet has focused on blue whiting, and the Síldarvinnslan’s plant in Neskaupstaður is busy right now, with around 7500 tonnes delivered by four vessels.
Barði docked with 1560 tonnes, followed by Beitir with 1530 tonnes. Sister vessels Börkur and Vilhelm Thorsteinsson are discharging 2310 and 2100 tonnes.
Barði’s skipper Theodór Haraldsson reported that their trip was ten days, port-to-port.
‘We started south-west of the Faroe Islands and did well to start with. There were 350-tonne hauls for eleven hours each. Then the fishing slowed right down,’ he said.
‘We shot away east of the Faroes, but the fishing wasn’t as good. 200-250 tonnes for twenty-hour tows. It looks much the same situation as last year when fishing got off to a slow start and increased through January.’
Barði is now away from blue whiting, and its sounders have been calibrated for the capelin survey.
According to production manager Hafthór Eiríksson at Sildarvinnslan’s Neskauðstaður plant, the pelagic vessels have been landing good qualty raw material.
‘Production started up right away and is going well. As well as production, we’re also shipping 2100 tonnes of fishmeal now, so we’ve enough to keep us busy,’ he said.
