Despite catching less fish than four years ago, the wholesale value of fish caught by the Faroese fishing fleet was around the same last year as in 2007 because of the rise in fish prices.
Accountancy firm, Nota, has analysed that that Faroese fishing vessels caught almost 200,000 tonnes less in 2011 than they did in 2007. However, the wholesale value of the full Faroese catch barely changed as fishermen got approximately twice as much money per kilo for the fish as they did four years ago.
Nota's analysis was reported on by the Dimmalætting newspaper, which said that the wholesale value of last year's Faroese catch was around €268.5m, which is about €13m Euros less than in 2007.
The increase in mackerel fishing is said to have contributed to the increase in the wholesale value of the Faroese fleet's fishing catch. Mackerel fishing increased the value of the catch by approximately €31m.
Faroese ships spent approximately 16,000 fewer days out fishing in 2011, whereas in the four years preceding 2011 they spent almost 22,000 fishing days per year at sea. The decline in fishing days corresponds to the falling number of fishing vessels, which has declined by 26% in the same time period, reports VMF.
VMF also reports that a large proportion of the home fleet is facing difficulties, whereas the pelagic fleet and long-distance trawlers have been doing well during the last few years, making the overall wholesale value relatively steady.
