While the capelin fishery around Iceland currently in limbo while the Icelandic fleet waits for the results of the stock survey this week, Norwegian vessels have taken their first capelin of the year in Icelandic waters, and Russian vessels have taken some early catches of capelin in the Barents Sea.
Icelandic pelagic skippers are reporting thick concentrations of capelin off the north-east of Iceland, with the fish moving in the usual migration pattern. This could indicate a good season to come, but it depends on the results of the Marine Research Institute’s capelin survey. Initial results could be ready at the end of the week.
The harbour at Norðfjörður has suddenly become too small as the capelin season has got off to a strong start with good fising off eastern Iceland between bouts of heavy weather, and some of the shipping traffic has had to be diverted to other ports.
The first capelin of the year were landed at Neskaupstaður in eastern Iceland, with 540 tonnes of frozen capelin and 450 tonnes of fresh capelin for meal production delivered by Samherji’s pelagic factory vessel Vilhelm Thorsteinsson, which sailed as soon as the landing was complete.
Síldarvinnslan’s pelagic vessels sailed from Neskaupstaður on Saturday and have found the first capelin of the season off the north-east of Iceland, before the usual research surveys have even started.
ICES has published its advice for the Barents Sea capelin quota for 2018, while the initial advice for the 2017-18 capelin fishery in Icelandic waters has also been made public. ICES has also corrected an error in its herring advice, revising downwards its recommendations for both this and next year.
Agreement has been reached between Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands over the division of the 2017-18 capelin season.
A month ago Iceland’s capelin season looked like a non-starter, with the fleet crippled by a long-running strike by crews and no prospects for any large capelin migration through Icelandic waters. It hasn't worked out quite like that.
Greenlandic pelagic vessel Qavak is now into its fourth trip on fishing grounds off Snæfellsnes. Its crew of fourteen is partly Icelandic, including skipper Gylfi Viðar Guðmundsson, who is one of the owners of Huginn VE-55 and skipper opposite Guðmundur Huginn Guðmundsson. Qavak is operated by Greenlandic company Arctic Prime Fisheries aps, which is partly owned by Brim hf.
There is some brisk fishing for capelin off Snæfellsnes right now, and capelin roe production is in full swing at several processing plants in Iceland as the season still shows no sign of coming to an end.