Factory trawler Blængur, operated by Icelandic company Síldarvinnslan, has recently completed a trip in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea, landing a catch worth a record ISK 635 million
According to this trip’s skipper Sigurður Hörður Kristjánsson, the catch was a green weight of 1,175 tonnes, and this is the highest grossing single trip for a Síldarvinnslan fishing vessel.
“The weather was changeable, and we spent two days sheltering in the lee of Bear Island,” he said.
“The fishing was nothing special compared to what we are used to seeing, but fish prices are high, and that makes for a high catch value.”
What attracted interest was that Blængur’s catch rates with its single trawl were not far behind those of the twin-rig trawlers on the same fishing grounds. The trawl used this trip was a new H-Toppur 127, and according to Hampiðjan Akureyri’s manager, fishing gear technologist Hermann Guðmundsson, the new trawl performed well.
“The H-Toppur trawl is designed for all the ground-hugging species that are fished around Iceland. The headline height is a maximum of 6.1 metres and it’s rigged onto a 40.8-metre rockhopper footrope. It measures around 100 metres all the way back to the codend,” Hermann Guðmundsson said.
Guðmundsson further commented that the thinking behind the design was to develop an all-round trawl with both spread and height. Going by the reports from Blængur’s crew, this has been achieved.
Kristjánsson reports that the H-Toppur did well in enabling them to keep up with the twin-riggers. He also remarked that there is noticeably less cod to be seen in Norwegian waters than in previous years, while species such as golden redfish, haddock and shrimp are flourishing.
“We’re completely satisfied with the trawl and with the co-operation with Hermann and his team. It’s not enough to just sell a trawl. The after-sales service Hermann provides is outstanding, and customers appreciate that,” he said.
According to co-skipper Bjarni Ólafur Hjálmarsson, the new trawl designed by Guðmundsson is on the same lines as the gear Blængurhas been towing for the last two or three years.
“We have been using a H-Topper 127 and also a H-Toppur 115. This trawl has performed exceptionally well. We normally have the headline at around 3.5 fathoms and a spread of 90 to 100 fathoms between the doors,” he said.
Hjálmarsson added that the trawls are always rigged on rockhoppers to keep damage to a minimum, and the gear is towed with a pair of 11-square metre, 5,200kg Sparrow doors.
