The Icelandic Marine Research Institute is sending research vessel Árni Friðriksson to sea at the beginning of the coming week to search for capelin, and two commercial fishing vessels are…
So far this year there has been no move to conduct a capelin survey of Icelandic waters, and according to fishing vessel operators’ federation Samtök Fyrirtækja í Sjavarútvegi (SFS), the…
The Icelandic Marine Research Institute has recommended a zero capelin TAC for this winter’s fishery, following acoustic sampling carried out in September and October. The Institute’s advice is set to…
ICES recommendations on the Barents Sea capelin fishery were announced last week, stating that the stock is below the level needed to justify allowing a 2020 winter fishery to take…
Pelagisk Forening, representing Norwegian pelagic operators, has put out a call for greater stability in the capelin fishery, which in recent has rocked from a substantial fishery, to zero. ‘We…
Pelagisk Forening, representing Norwegian pelagic operators, has raised a number of questions concerning the uncertainty surrounding capelin fishing, stating that as so often before, what the fishermen see is not the same as researchers observe.
The loss of the capelin season this year comes as a blow to coastal areas in Iceland, where the fishery traditionally provides a boost at this time of year.
While Icelandic pelagic vessels are busy fishing blue whiting west of Ireland, this is the time of year when they would usually be in the midst of the winter capelin season. Although there were hopes that enough capelin would be located to allow the fishery to begin, it is not clear that this isn’t going to happen.
ICES has advised a zero Barents Sea capelin TAC next year, although according to the Norwegian Marine Research Institute, there is no likelihood of a collapse of the stock.
An acoustic survey of the capelin stock carried out north of Iceland and south-west of Greenland during September has not returned results substantial enough for an initial quota to be allocated – although the Marine Research Institute has yet to finish processing the data.