HB Grandi’s pelagic vessels have been fishing successfully on herring and mackerel recently, operating over a wide area that has extended from the international waters of the Herring Loophole to the Faroese EEZ and to fishing grounds only 40 nautical miles from their base in Vopnafjördur.
According to Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson, head of HB Grandi’s pelagic division, there have been problems in avoiding mackerel when the company’s three pelagic vessels have been targeting herring. The proportion of mackerel in herring catches has varied from 10% up to 70%, and the crews are also starting to see some blue whiting in their catches. The HB Grandi fleet now has approximately 15,000 tonnes remaining of its herring quota, as well as 2500 tonnes of mackerel. This means that mackerel is strictly a by-catch of the herring fishery and steps have to be taken so that the by-catch level is not too high.
Last night production at Vopnafjördur finished completed a landing by Lundey NS and started processing a catch landed by Faxi RE, while Ingunn AK is waiting to start discharging and Lundey is back at sea and shot away last night on the same fishing grounds as in the previous trip that are only 40 nautical miles from Vopnafjördur. The first haul of 150 tonnes turned out to be 80% herring and 20% mackerel.
