As per report HB Grandi’s pelagic vessels have landed 27,000 tonnes of Atlanto-Scandian herring and mackerel at Vopnafjördur this year. This represents a significant reduction in catch compared to last year, when 41,000 tonnes of mackerel and herring had been landed at the same point in 2009. But the best part is that the production of herring and mackerel for human consumption has increased dramatically, with approximately three times the amount going to production this year compared to 2009.
Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson, head of HB Grandi’s pelagic division, states that by the first of September last year, 2800 tonnes of products had been frozen, or around 7 percent of landings, as the bulk of catches were at that time landed for fishmeal production. He added that the new fishmeal plant at Vopnafjördur has therefore had less raw material to work with than the old plant had and this year the fishmeal production has been working with offcuts from frozen production and fish graded out of the production for human consumption.
According to him the fishmeal plant has processed around 18,000 tonnes of offcuts from herring and mackerel production and whole fish that were not suitable for other processing. Last year this production came to 38,000 tonnes, of which most consisted of whole, ungraded fish.
