The fishmeal production plants run by Síldarvinnslan in the Icelandic east coast ports of Seyðisfjörður and Neskaupstaður have been busy since the company’s pelagic vessels made their first landings of blue whiting earlier this month.
The fleet is currently fishing west of Ireland, on fishing grounds that are several days’ steaming from their home ports.
According to Gunnar Sverrisson, factory manager at the Seyðisfjörður plant, the first landing they had was 2000 tonnes discharged by Margrét, and this was followed by a 3000 tonne landing by Beitir.
Hafthór Eiríksson, who runs the Neskaupstaður factory, is also satisfied with landings from Bjarni Ólafsson, Börkur and Hákon, and commented that the fish are excellent raw material for meal production with a yield of roughly 2% oil. The fat content of the fish can be expected to remain low as the fish are ready to spawn and are therefore consuming their own fat reserves.
According to Bjarni Ólafsson’s skipper Gísli Runólfsson, heavy weather and a long steam home have been challenging.
“Steaming home took four and a half days,” he said.
“There’s good fishing there when the weather allows, but the reality is that’s an area where the weather can be terrible.”
