Capelin freezing in progress at Vopnafjordur

Ingunn AK docked at Vopnafjordur with 750 tonnes of capelin late last night. According to plant manager Magnus Robertsson at Vopnafjördur, the largest grades have been graded out and production was expected to be complete late this evening, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to HB Grandi.

The capelin season has started slowly with only three vessels fishing these last few days. Faxi RE is now on its way to Vopnafjördur with 260 tonnes and is scheduled to arrive this evening. Skipper Albert Sveinsson said that the trip had been an eventful one.

‘It hasn't been easy. The capelin have been sitting deep and are dispersed, even at night, and heavy currents have made fishing even more awkward. We were also unfortunate enough to damage the purse seine, badly on one occasion. The crew fixed the gear over one bitterly cold night during a snowstorm,' he said and commented that conditions on the Kolbeinsey Ridge would  be much more suitable for pelagic trawling than purse seining. But pelagic trawls can only be used east of Langanes.

‘There's no shortage of capelin marks, but they hardly rise above 60 fathoms and most of our fishing hasn't lived up to what the marks on the sounder have promised,' Albert Sveinsson said.