Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute hasn’t changed its advice for a zero-quota capelin season following an acoustic samplig survey carried out this month.
Research vessels Árni Friðriksson and Bjarni Sæmundsson, and commercial vessels Polar Ammassak and Ágrímur Halldórsson surveyed waters to the north of Iceland between 16th and 23rd January. The survey results weren’t strong enough for the Institute to change its current recommendations.
Little capelin was identified, and according to the Institute, the likelihood is that the stock is still largely under the sea ice to the north-west of Iceland. The heaviest concentrations of capelin were located close to the edge of the ice from Horn and extending eastwards to the Kolbeinsey Ridge, while mainly juvenile capelin were to be found further to the west.
No capelin was identified off the east of Iceland and only small amounts off the north coast, and these are the areas where the first capelin of the annual migration is expected to be found at this time of year.
The distribution surveyed indicates that the sea ice has prevented the full extent of the capelin distribution from being mapped, and the volume of adults capelin identified correlates to around a quarter of the amount that was measures in the autumn.
Dates have yet to be decided, but the Institute aims for a further survey to take place during February, when either the capelin has emerged from under the ice, or the ice has cleared enough to provide access.
