The mackerel fishery for the Scottish fleet got off to a good start this year, with reports of plenty shoals of good-sized fish.
Fishing mainly to the north-west of Orkney, the abundant amounts of fish on the grounds allowed the fleet to work short trips of one or two days, with catches landed to processors in Shetland, Peterhead, Norway and Denmark. Short trips means excellent quality, and mackerel is in strong demand.
Most of the mackerel fishing was over by the first week of February. Some pelagic vessels with quotas for Atlanto-Scandian herring have been fishing off the Lofoten Islands, while others have headed for the waters off the west of Ireland for heavy fishing on blue whiting.
The next major ishery for the Scottish fleet is North Sea herring. Unlike fisheries for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring, the North Sea herring has held on to its MSC certification.
This fishery is expected to last from mid-July to mid-August, before the Scottish fleet again goes back to sea in October for the rest of the mackerel fishery for the year.
