For the first time, Norwegian sales organisation Sildelaget has punched through NoK10 billion to set a new sales record for pelagic fish.
‘Due to the fantastic efforts of pelagic fishermen and our customers, we have reached a milestone, which is very pleasing,’ said Sildelaget director Paul Oma.
‘We have great confidence in the further growth of value creation in the pelagic sector.’
More than 1.6 million tonnes of pelagic fish have been traded through Siledlaget so far this year. There are still fishing vessels at work, although activity is now slowing down as the rest of the year and remaining quotas are coming to an end.
Paul Oma reported that Atlanto-Scandian herring, mackerel and sandeel in particular account for the solid growth in turnover in 2020, with each of these returning around NoK500 million more in turnover this year compared with 2019.
This year, the sandeel fleet was allowed a large quota of 250,000 tonnes, almost all of which was caught. With a price increase of around NoK600 per tonne, this had a major effect.
An increase in the mackerel quota of 40% from 2019, as well as more mackerel landed in Norway from overseas vessels in 2020 contributed to higher sales of mackerel in total, even with a drop in the price in the first sale price.
Higher prices for Atlanto-Scandian herring have boosted turnover by more than NoK500 million.
