There is heavy fishing on blue whiting in Faroese waters at the moment, with Faroese, Icelandic, Russian and Norwegian vessels all fishing there, as the fish appear to have migrated out of EU waters and into the Faroese zone.
The Icelandic pelagic fleet has been fishing well on blue whiting since the beginning of April, and Síldarvinnslan has taken delivery of 25,000 tonnes since the season got underway.
The Síldarvinnslan fishmeal plant at Seyðisfjörður in eastern Iceland was last night evacuated after a long period of snowfalls combined with rising temperatures and rain created an avalanche risk as snow on the Strandartindur mountain overlooking the factory began to loosen.
The Norwegian fleet has finished one capelin season and another has started, as their quota in Icelandic waters has been fished and the Barents Sea capelin fishery is now in progress.
Iceland’s Marine Research Institute has released the results of the latest capelin survey and the figures were announced as a 77,000 increase on the provisional quota that the fleet has been fishing on so far this year, while the Ministry of Fisheries has announced a boosted blue whiting quota share for 2018.
Following a bad-tempered falling-out at the end of last year over reciprocal access to fishing grounds, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have come to an agreement for access in 2018 to Atlanto-Scandian herring, blue whiting and other fish stocks.
Iceland’s blue whiting fishery in the north-eastern Atlantic has been granted MSC certification and the blue tick of approval that goes with it. The fishery has been certified by conformity assessment body DNV GL against the MSC’s fisheries standard.
Iceland’s minister of fisheries and agriculture Kristján Thór Júlíusson has taken the decision to exclude Faroese fishing vessels from Icelandic waters in 2018, just as the Faroe Islands warned Iceland its vessels would not have access to blue whiting in the Faroese zone unless concessions were made.
The crews of HB Grandi’s pelagic vessels are now ashore for the Christmas break after a couple of weeks of good fishing on blue whiting. According to Víkingur’s skipper Albert Sveinsson, the plan is to be back at sea on the third of January, but as yet it is not certain whether they will be fishing for capelin or blue whiting.
There’s plenty to keep the staff of HB Grandi’s fishmeal plant in Vopnafjörður busy for the next few days with 4000 tonnes of blue whiting landings yesterday and last night.