Westman Islands fishing company Huginn ehf has been acquired by fishing and processing group Vinnslustöðin hf, along with its quotas for herring, capelin, mackerel and blue whiting, and purser-trawler Huginn VE-55.
Vinnslustöðin had already held a 48% stake in Huginn ehf and has now acquired the remaining 52% from the family that has been behind the fishing company since 1968.
Pelagic vessel Huginn VE-55 was built in Chile in 2001 and was lengthened recently to increase its carrying capacity.
Alongside the purchase of the company, quotas and vessel, an agreement has been made that Guðmundur Ingi Guðmundsson will sail as Huginn’s skipper, with his father Guðmundur Huginn Guðmundsson and uncle Gylfi Viðar Guðmundsson.
The Huginn fishing company was a pioneer in fishing for mackerel in Iceland, having begun searching for it with little success from 2002 to 2006, and in 2007 they were the first to have any real success with a 3000 tonne catch that summer.
‘There was no guarantee that a buyer for a controlling share of Huginn ehf would be a Westman Islands operator, but the family have very deep links to their community and emphasised that the company, the vessel and its quotas should remain here,’ said Vinnslustöðin’s managing director Sigurgeir Brynjar Kristgeirsson.
‘We are very satisfied with their position. Vinnslustöðin has built up its activities in the pelagic sector in recent years. Combining the operations of the companies will result in more streamlined operations of vessels and production. In recent years Huginn has co-operated with Eskja on processing mackerel. Vinnslustöðin’s managers see this as an interesting option and hope to develop this further.’
Image: Vinnslustöðin
