GOOD START TO YEAR FOR ICELANDIC TRAWLER

Good start to year for Icelandic trawler. Brim’s fresher trawler Akurey is fishing on Westfjords grounds after landing a 140-145 tonne first trip this year. The catch was landed in Reykjavík last week. Skipper Eiríkur Jónsson said that the year has got off to a good start, and there was good fishing throughout the trip, which is unusual.

“We were mostly on the bank west of the Westfjords. We also dropped in on the Hali grounds and the Djúpáll Gully, and finished up in the Víkuráll Gully. The bulk of the catch was good quality cod and I’d guess the fish are an average of 4kg,” he said, adding that in addition to the cod, there were amounts of haddock and saithe.

“There was some sea ice which made life difficult for us, especially the last two days. The ice had covered part of the bank and I estimate it was around 30 miles offshore. There was even sea ice in the Víkuráll Gully where we finished the trip,” he said, commenting that the crew noticed the presence of capelin.

“There was capelin to be seen caught in the meshes of the trawl. This was mostly small capelin, but we couldn’t miss it,” he said.