FREEZERS START WELL ON MACKEREL

‘It looks good. We had twelve tonnes of good quality mackerel in our first haul after a two-hour tow. We have been able to maintain full production and if things continue like this then the quota should keep us going until the middle of August,’ said Therney RE’s skipper Kristinn Gestsson when we spoke to him with Therney fishing in the Jökull Deeps.

‘Most of the trawlers that have started on mackerel in the last few days are fishing south of the Westmann Islands, but here there is only one other trawler fishing alongside us, which is Málmey SK. From what we have been hearing, the mackerel they are getting south of the Westmann Islands is smaller than the fish here. Our average weight so far has been between 370 and 390 grammes, plus the fish are in good condition, which is no surprise as there is plenty of feed here,’ he said.

HB Grandi has two freezers fishing mackerel, as Örfirisey RE is also at sea. Each trawler has a quota of around 2000 tonnes of mackerel this summer and Kristinn Gestsson said that they are aiming to land once a week. The mackerel are wholefrozen on board and are caught in a specially designed pelagic trawl from Hampidjan. HB Grandi’s fresher trawlers are also fishing for mackerel but are using smaller pelagic gear for this fishery.