‘It’s been acceptable fishing, but no more than that. We have been fishing in the haddock box off Straumnes and east towards the Horn Bank, and this area was opened up only a week ago. I expect that the fishing will average out at about a tonne per towing hour and it’s fine quality haddock,’ said skipper Trausti Egilsson of HB Grandi’s factory trawler Orfirisey.
When we spoke to him they were steaming in to Isafjordur to pick up a new antenna.
‘This is quick trip into port, three hours steaming each way, and we can use it to dodge out a spell of bad weather. There has been rough weather for the last three or four days and there’s a storm forecast. So it looks like autumn is on us early this year,’ Trausti Egilsson said.
The quota year is now coming to a close and this reflects the quota position of most fishing companies. Trausti Egilsson said that they have managed well in making their quota last the year, as the deep sea fishing was good this year and only came to an end recently.
‘What we’re worried about is getting an unexpected haul of cod. We had a quick look on the Hali grounds (The Hindenburg Line), where there was cod everywhere and we made our way out of it as quickly as we could. Everyone is so tight on cod quota these days that nobody can catch any except as a by-catch with something else. It was something of a surprise that there was a good bit of saithe on the Hali grounds, bt we didn’t dare try and get any because of the danger of getting haul of cod,’ Trausti Egilsson said, and added that most factory vessels have a cod quota of around 900 tonnes, so with roughly 300 fishing days in a year, they can’t catch more than an average of 3 tonnes per day.
