The Icelandic pelagic vessels Beitir NK and Börkur NK have brought in what is believed to be the final herring catches from the Eastfjords this year.
Beitir NK arrived in Neskaupstaður yesterday morning with 1,500 tonnes of herring, followed shortly after by Börkur NK with 1,030 tonnes. These are likely the last herring landings from the Eastfjords fishing grounds this season, marking the end of the Norwegian–Icelandic herring fishery in the area for 2025.
Meanwhile, Barði NK has already sailed westward to begin fishing for Icelandic summer-spawning herring, of which Síldarvinnslan’s quota stands at around 12,000 tonnes.
Beitir’s skipper, Ólafur Gunnar Guðnason, reported that the herring caught was a mix of Norwegian–Icelandic and Icelandic summer-spawning herring. “We began with one haul on Héraðsflói and got 270 tonnes, then moved to Rauða torgið where fishing had been good — though it had just ended when we arrived,” he said.
The vessel later found herring closer to shore, near Reyðarfjarðardýpi, where they took two hauls yielding 600 and 250 tonnes respectively. “This was the finest herring we caught, but we had to work for it this time,” Guðnason noted.
Good fishing before moving west
Börkur’s skipper, Hálfdan Hálfdanarson, was also satisfied with the outcome. “We fished in the same area as Beitir, near Utanfótar, and got over 1,000 tonnes in three short hauls, each lasting about three hours,” he said.
He added that with the Norwegian–Icelandic herring quota now finished, vessels are turning their attention to summer-spawning herring off western Iceland.