Icelandic and Russian trawlers taking good catches of Redfish

All four of HB Grandi’s freezer trawlers, after starting fishing on the 10th of May, managed to finish their redfish quotas before the Seamen’s Day weekend. This year’s quota was small at 2600 tonnes, or 650 tonnes per trawler, according to HB Grandi.

Fishing was very good on the Reykjanes Ridge at the limits of the 200-mile limit while the Icelandic fleet was at work.

Under Icelandic regulations, fishing may not start before the 10th of May, although the Russian vessels fishing in the area had already fished well before that date. In fact, fishing had been good enough for them to have taken the 15% of their overall quota they are allowed prior to 10th May several days early.

Last year’s fishing on deep sea redfish was a disappointment for Icelandic fishermen and vessel owners. Last year there had been good fishing for several weeks before the fishery opened for Icelandic vessels, but rising sea temperatures dispersed the fish and the quota was not easily caught. As a result, the overall quota was cut, although taking into account fishing during May this year, the stock appears to be in better shape than anyone had expected.