Norwegian sales organisation Sildelaget reports that there has been good fishing on blue whiting off St Kilda, but other pelagic landings have been slow.
40,000 tonnes of blue whiting catches were reported last week, mainly from the St Kilda area and caught by 28 pelagic vessels, including nine industrial vessels. Two other pelagic boats have been fishing on the North Sea side.
Sildelaget reports that the quota is diminishing, with 50,000 tonnes left in the quota pot, although this includes flexibility terms. Good fishing and significantly shorter steaming times have meant longer waiting time to discharge catches and some plants are winding down for the Easter weekend while the Danish factories are busy with sandeel.
There have been some horse mackerel landings in the last week and some small mackerel landings that attract top prices for these first landings.
The sandeel season for the Norwegian fleet is expected to open shortly, with no certainty of many vessels taking part as many of the industrial and North Sea boats still have blue whiting quotas to catch.
