HB Grandi’s pelagic vessel Víkingur was due to dock at Vopnafjörður last night with 1040 tonnes of herring on board, caught in five shots in the Faroese EEZ, 40 to 65 nautical miles east of the mid-line between Icelandic and Faroese zones.
The North Sea herring fishery operated by vessels belonging to the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group and the Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (England, France, Germany, Lithuania and the Netherlands) has been re-certified by the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) flagship ecolabel scheme.
The Finnish Fishermen's Association has entered the Baltic herring and sprat fishery into full assessment to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) Fisheries Standard. The fishery represents more than 90% Finland’s marine catch and is the first Finnish fishery to enter MSC assessment.
Danish pelagic vessel Ruth docked in the Faroes at the end of last week with 2600 tonnes of mackerel valued at DKK20 million (€2.69 million) on board for its first trip of 2017.
Even with spells of heavy weather, the Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery in northern Norway has got off to a strong start with 17,300 tonnes landed during the first week.
The Icelandic Ministry of Industry and Innovation with responsibility for fisheries has mirrored Norway’s herring quota hike in setting this year’s quotas for Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting.
The Faroese pelagic fleet has now caught all of its 2016 quotas, and Vónin trawl gear featured heavily in the fleet’s catching patterns this year.
Síldarvinnslan’s pelagic vessels have finished on Icelandic summer-spawning herring after a difficult season and the two have now switched to blue whiting, following the example of HB Grandi’s pelagic boats that are already fishing in Faroese waters.
Norway and the EU have agreed mutual access for fishing Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting in each others’ zones in 2017, and the agreement gives the Norwegian fleet increased access to blue whiting in EU waters next year.
Norway’s fisheries minister Per Sandberg has announced that the Norwegian quota for Atlanto-Scandian herring has been lifted with a 40,000 tonne increase.