ANNONCER
Iceland’s Seamen’s Union yesterday voted to prepare for strike action, while also passing a motion in favour of making every effort to reach an agreement with vessel owners.
Of the 30 Norwegian pelagic vessels in Icelandic waters, only 25 may fish at any one time and those landing in Icelandic ports are required to wait at the quay until their turn comes around again.
Icelandic processor HB Grandi plans to resume roundfish processing at its Vopnafjörður location where it has concentrated in recent years on pelagic processing and fishmeal production, and has invested heavily in both shore facilities and new pelagic vessels.
Based in eastern Iceland, Hjálmar ehf has purchased longliner Óli á Stað GK-99 from Grindavík company Stakkavík, along with a 1164 tonne quota in the hooked fishing permit system, and in exchange Hjálmar’s parent company Loðnuvinnslan has parted with a 200 tonne quota in the main quota system.
There has been some good fishing on the Fugløy Bank in the Barents Sea since HB Grandi’s factory trawler Therney arrived there in mid-January. According to skipper Kristinn Gestsson, the first week there was very good and since then catch rates have been reasonable.
‘The weather has been good, and so has the fishing. Prices are reasonable, but they’ll drop as they always do when the fishing gets heavy,’ said Arthur Bogason, president of the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers, former chairman of the Icelandic National Association of Small Boat Owners – and himself an inshore fisherman.
‘We’re well off the north coast about 40 nautical miles north-west of Kolbeinsey. We’ve been in this area for a couple of days looking for Greenland halibut, but unfortunately fishing has been slow,’ said Trausti Egilsson, skipper of HB Grandi’s freezer trawler Örfirisey RE-4 when we spoke to him earlier today.
The first capelin of the season was landed at Neskaupstaður in eastern Iceland at the weekend.
Saithe processing started at Síldarvinnslan’s factory in Neskaupstaður in eastern Iceland last week.
Iceland’s Marine Research Institute has announced that results from its capelin research are now complete.
ADS
