STRONG MARKS LAST NIGHT, GONE TODAY

Herring has a reputation as a tricky customer, as Arnthór Hjörleifsson, skipper of Lundey NS, would agree. When Lundey arrived on fishing grounds yesterday evening there were strong herring marks to be seen deep west of Snæfellsnes. Two shot tows yielded 460 tonnes of fish, but today there was nothing to be seen.

‘We’re in the Kolluáll Gully, just south of Snæfellsnes and Jóna Edvalds SF is here alongside us. It’s a very big area so there’s nothing surprising about two of us not seeing herring, but my feeling is that the fish are tight on the bottom during the day and don’t show up easily on the sounders,’ he said.

The first of the HB Grandi fleet started on Icelandic summer-spawning herring on the 7th of October and the first landing was at Vopnafjördur three days later. Now that all three pelagic vessels have completed a trip, 29000 tonnes of the company’s 8800 tonnes quota have been caught.

Arnthór Hjörleifsson said that Jóna Edvalds searched the area of inlets and sounds around Stykkishólmur during the first days of searching, but that area has not been checked again since. Several vessels are fishing herring off the east and south-east of Iceland, where Atlanto-Scandian herring still forms the bulk of catches. The thinking is that part of the stock may have established itself in Icelandic waters and is set to spawn here instead of migrating to the usual spawning grounds off the Norwegian coast.