BLUE WHITING SEASON GRADUALLY WINDS DOWN

Blue whiting season gradually winds down. As expected, there was a modest quantity of blue whiting caught by the Norwegian fleet, with 12,000 tonnes in the record, reports pelagic organisation, Norges Sildesalgslag.
The quantity was divided by three catches from Norwegian boats from the Faroe Islands zone, and four boats that have fished along the ‘Edge’ in the Norwegian zone.
In addition, two Faroese boats have contributed 5,400 t. Of this, the boat ‘Christian in Grøtinum’ has landed over 3,500 t. This is the largest quantity landed in Norway of pelagic fish.
In the coming weeks, only a modest amount of blue whiting is expected as the fishery winds up for the season.
The boats from the coal mullet trawl group have finished fishing for this season, and from the boats that fish in the North Sea, there are very few in this fishing. If the fishing in the Faroese zone continues to be good, Faroese boats may also come to Norway.
It was another week with disappointing quantities of sandeels. From three boats, there was a catch of only 1,700 tonnes. Of this quantity, the Danish boat “Themis” has fished 1,350 t from the Danish sector of the North Sea.
Since there was such a decline in fishing on sandeels, a couple of boats have been fishing for North Sea herring, catching about 1,100 tonnes. The boats report that the herring are scattered and both catches have been taken with a trawl.
The catches have been taken in the area around Alle-banken, close south of N 60⁰. The herring has been both small and very lean, and is not suitable for consumption.
The first fat analyses show it has been a cold spring with little feed, where very low fat content is measured. This is in contrast to last year in May, where the herring was unusually fat and full of food.
Photo credit: Andreas Møgster/Norges Sildesalgslag (2020)