Slow search for capelin

Not a great deal of capelin has been found on fishing grounds off the Westfjords after research vessel Árni Fridriksson yesterday reported some decent marks of large capelin there. Five or six pelagic vessels are now in the area and with poor weather forecast, it seems likely that the search will be brought to a close after this evening, reports www.megafishnet.com.

Among those searching for capelin are HB Grandi vessels Ingunn AK and Faxi RE, both of which sailed from Vopnafjördur on Sunday. According to Jóhann Örn Jónbjörnsson, first mate on Ingunn for this trip, the fleet is now N-W of Hornbjarg.

‘It looked good when we heard that Árni Fridriksson had found some good quality capelin in catchable amounts , and although there was some to be seen during the night, the fish were dispersed and deep. Greenlandic purser Erika took a 50-60 tonne shot yesterday, right after we had the news from Árni Fridriksson, but then they had a breakdown of some kind and had to go in for repairs,' said Jóhann Örn Jónbjörnsson, adding that all of the pelagic vessels are searching on much the same grounds.

‘The forecast looks bad but we have until this evening or at most some time tonight before the weather is going to worsen. If the forecast is accurate, it looks like we won't have fishing weather again until around or even after next weekend.'