More than 6,000 tonnes of capelin with roe were landed in Neskaupstaður, Iceland, over the weekend as several vessels delivered large catches to local processing plants. The landings kept both the harbour and the fish factory busy with roe cutting, cleaning and freezing.
Four vessels accounted for the landings. Börkur NK delivered 1,600 tonnes, Barði NK landed 1,750 tonnes, while the Greenlandic vessels Polar Amaroq and Polar Ammassak brought in 1,600 tonnes and 1,400 tonnes respectively.
Different fishing grounds
The vessels did not fish in the same areas. Börkur and Barði caught their capelin 6–8 nautical miles off Sandgerði near Reykjanes, while the Greenlandic vessels were fishing north of Ólafsvík in Breiðafjörður.
According to Barði skipper Þorkell Pétursson, the vessels first made a test haul on Wednesday evening. The haul gave about 100 tonnes and showed that the roe was fully mature. Most of the catch was then taken in three hauls on Thursday, each giving 500–690 tonnes.
He said the shoals were very dense, which meant the crews had to avoid taking too many fish in a single set.
Roe maturity differs
The maturity of the roe varied strongly between the fishing grounds.
Capelin caught near Reykjanes had roe maturity close to 100%, while the fish caught in Breiðafjörður showed about 40% maturity.
Geir Zoëga, skipper of Polar Amaroq, said the catch north of Ólafsvík contained a high share of roe, around 18%, even though the roe was less developed.
Fishing is expected to resume
Börkur, Barði and Polar Amaroq have already returned to sea. Polar Ammassak was still landing its catch.
Bad weather stopped fishing on the capelin grounds during the weekend. Fishing vessels expect operations to resume once conditions improve.