According to information published by Icelandic fishing company HB Grandi its fleet landed 141,867 tonnes of fish valued at ISK14 billion during 2016. This a 19% reduction in volume compared to its 2015 catch levels, and catch values fell by 16%.
HB Grandi’s figures show that its two new pelagic vessels Venus and Víkingur between them landed 95,600 tonnes valued at ISK3.7 billion. This is a considerable drop compared to 2015 when the company’s three older pelagic vessels landed 128,000 tonnes with a value of ISK4.6 billion, with the poor capelin season last year a significant factor in the 25% overall reduction in pelagic landings and 19% drop in values.
The company’s three freezer trawlers landed a total of 21,000 tonnes last year, with a catch value of ISK5.9 billion. The reduction in volume was just 2.5%, while values in ISK-terms fell by 15% compared to the previous year, attributable to the rising strength of Iceland’s currency compared to those of the countries where HB Grandi sells its produce.
The four HB Grandi fresher trawlers’ catch was down 4% to approximately 25,300 tonnes with a value of ISK 4.4 billion. This is a 14% drop compared to 2015. As a whole, the company’s trawler fleet as a whole landed approximately 46,300 tonnes of groundfish with an overall value of ISK10.3 billion. The drop in catches was 3.5% and the value reduction is 15% over the same period.
