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Commercial Fishing

MIXED FISHING FOR NORWEGIAN PELAGIC FLEET

MIXED FISHING FOR NORWEGIAN PELAGIC FLEET

Mixed fishing for Norwegian pelagic fleet. Norwegian spring spawning herring is moving a bit in the south and there is poor capelin fishing off Iceland, according to Kenneth Garvik of Norges Sildesalgslag, a Norwegian fish sales association.

Reporting on herring for week six in the season, it was an average with 13,600 tonnes reported. In total, this quantity is distributed over 34 different boats, and it is the coastal group that has contributed the most with 6,700 t. The remaining quantity fished by trawl with 5,600 t, purse seine 800 t and a Swedish boat has fished 500 t.

Compared with previous years, herring are lagging behind in their migration south towards the spawning fields. For the smallest herring (220 -250 g) that is fished in the north, the boats have last week fished from 70 n.mil north of Andenes early in the week to just northwest of the same place this weekend. Here, the fishermen report good herring during periods when good casts and trawl hauls have been taken when the weather has been good.

From the other field west of Lofoten, where there is larger herring (300 -350 g), the activities have taken place from 110 n.mil west of Lofotodden and further southeast to 40 n.mil west of Røst this weekend. Here it seems that the herring has moved a little more south in recent days.
In this area, only herring is caught with trawls. This is because the herring stays deep where it is difficult to reach down with a net.

Whether it will go to Møre, or spawn further north will be exciting to see. We can only hope for good weather conditions in the future and that the herring on their migration will also be available for seine fishing.

Capelin:
It has been a miserable capelin week in Iceland with only 1,500 tonnes in the record. In addition to this quantity, there is a lot of capelin on the keel of the 30 boats that have sailed.

It has been an extremely difficult week in this fishing. Where the storm has ravaged with low pressure in line and only short periods of fishing weather. In these short lies, fishing has been bad all week.
An exception to this is the last day of the weekend where the boats came across well with capelin close north of N 64⁰ 30 ′ and east of Langanes. Then a number of good casts were taken that give a little optimism going forward for both the boats that fish, and for those who are waiting for fishing thorns.

The rules for the Norwegian boats, which are set from Iceland, are that there can only be 30 boats active in fishing. You can only fish with a seine, and the boats must be north of N 64⁰ 30 ′. Last fishing day is February 22 so we only have eight fishing days left.

Mackerel:
The mackerel is now on its way southwest, and the foreign boats fishing on it have last week been active west of the Hebrides. These are mainly Irish boats landing in Killybegs.

The distance to Norway is great, so last week only “Aine” came with 700 tons. The average size of this is 400 grams.

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