ÁSBJÖRN LANDS IN SIGLUFJÖRDUR

HB Grandi’s fresher trawler Ásbjörn RE is now alongside at Siglufjördur in the north of Iceland, landing fish from its latest trip. According to skipper Fridleifur Einarsson, this is the first time, as far as he knows, that one of the company’s trawlers has called at Siglufjördur with its catch.

‘We started the trip on Westfjords grounds looking for saithe and redfish. Things were slow, so we decided to steam eastwards where we had a hundred tonnes of clean cod in two days. Next we’ll probably be back off the Westfjords again, so it seemed worthwhile landing in Siglufjördur. It’s a shorter distance to truck the fish from there than from Ísafjördur,’ Fridleifur Einarsson said, commenting that they had been three days fishing during the trip, and the same time went onto steaming.

Ásbjörn’s crew went back to Reykjavík for the weekend, leaving the ship in Siglufjördur, and expect to be sailing again tonight. The skipper has a good feeling for the new quota year, although he’s disappointed that the haddock quota has been cut yet again.

‘Like so many others, we have to avoid haddock, which could cause us problems, especially when we’re fishing for saithe,’ he said.