Captain Albert Sveinsson of pelagic trawler Faxi RE said that they are pleased with the results of the pair trawling. He added that the main advantage of the pair trawling is that the fish are less likely to be spooked when the trawlers are each side of a mark with the trawl between them. He further told that at the time of fishing, the fishermen normally have to pass right over a shoal of fish that is often right on the surface, before the trawl reaches it.
It is said that Faxi RE landed 1400 tonnes of fish for meal production at Eskifjordur. The fish was caught trawling with Ingunn AK. Albert Sveinsson says that fishing took place over a wide area east of Iceland. He opined that they are working over a big area and the fleet is very dispersed. Some of the trawlers have been working in Faroese waters, but the furthest they went in this trip was to the line Faroese EEZ limit, says Sveinsson.
The good way of working while pair trawling is for the skipper who has his gear in the water to take the decisions for that haul. At the moment, all of the Icelandic pelagic fleet on herring has switched to pair trawling, with the exception of Huginn VE, which is fishing with a specially rigged trawl.
