These two mackerel landings close together mean that HB Grandi’s Vopnafjördur factory will be kept busy this Bank Holiday weekend.
Víkingur docked at Vopnafjördur earlier today with approximately 800 tonnes of mackerel on board. Venus was already discharging at the quayside, with landing expected to be complete this afternoon.
‘This was a fine trip. We dropped right onto some good fishing in the Skeiðarár Deeps and then had another good haul the following afternoon. There wasn’t much to be seen on the Síðugrunn grounds and we finished in the Hornafjörður Deeps with some excellent mackerel,’ said Víkingur’s skipper Hjalti Einarsson.
He reported that there were few other pelagic vessels to be seen, and Víkingur’s crew had only seen pelagic vessels Bjarni Ólafsson and Hákon, both of which didn’t stop for long.
‘I don’t expect to see many boats fishing over the next few days because of the Bank Holiday weekend, but there will probably be more to be seen from Sunday onwards.’
He commented that it’s no problem to avoid herring by-catches with the mackerel by keeping to deeper water, which minimises the hazard of herring mixing with the mackerel.
‘The mackerel themselves are in fine condition and according to our samples most of our fish is 400 to 420 gramme fish. We’ve done seven trips this summer on mackerel and we’re hoping that the quota will last us until September,’ Hjalti Einarsson said.
