ANNONCER
Atlantic rock crab were first identified in Hvalfjörður in south-western Iceland a decade ago and since then they have spread around the whole west coast and are reported to be found as far north and east as Eyjafjörður. According to independent fisheries scientist Jón Kristjánsson, rock crab could reach the east coast within a few years.
After 25 years, one of Samherji’s most successful trawlers is set to leave the company and with it the Baldvin name that has certainly brought no shortage of good luck.
Síldarvinnslan’s fleet has finished its mackerel fishery this year, ending the season with two of the pelagic vessels trying to catch mackerel with purse seine gear in the Herring Loophole.
Samherji’s factory trawler Kristina has been sold to Russia and will be delivered to its new owners next week. The trawler has been in Samherji’s ownership for more than ten years.
‘Fishing has been good all through the autumn and weather conditions have been fine. There were two deep depressions that passed over the Westfjords during the last trip, but we escaped the worst of it,’ said Heimir Guðbjörnsson, skipper of HB Grandi’s fresher trawler Helga María.
Icelandic pelagic vessel Börkur has landed purse seine-caught mackerel for the first time, with 630 tonnes of mackerel caught in international waters 280 nautical miles offshore, and close to the Faroese line.
A swathe of awards were presented yesterday at the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition to industry figures and companies, with a welcoming speech by fisheries minister Thorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir.
Aquaculture and the granting of licences to overseas investors looking to establish large-scale fish farming operations, primarily salmon, in Iceland’s western and eastern fjords looks set to be as divisive an issue as the quota system and the catch levy have been.
A deal has been struck between processor Ísfiskur, based in the Reykjavík suburb of Kópavogur, and fishing and processing giant HB Grandi, which had earlier this year announced its intention to close its groundfish production in Akranes.
Westmann Islands netter Kap II has been fishing well this summer, having caught 300 tonnes of Greenland halibut since the beginning of July on grounds off the east of Iceland.
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