The two trawlers run by Icelandic company Síldarvinnslan’s subsidiary Bergur-Huginn have been fishing exceptionally well, with each of them landing just short of 700 tonnes in a single month.
Vestmannaey and Bergey are 29 metre sister vessels and March was their best ever month with 1400 tonnes of gutted fish between them, equivalent to a green weight of 1570 tonnes.
“Fishing has been really good,” said Bergey’s skipper Jón Valgeirsson,
“We have been fishing mainly in the Haf Deeps area, where we have been getting mostly cod and some mixed fish. Those grounds are around half an hour from the Westmann Islands and there has been a huge amount of cod there. We have to be careful, always taking care not to get too much,” he said.
“We have also been fishing further east for haddock and have done well there. The only bad thing about this good fishing is the price, which is around 20% lower than it was at the same time last year,” he said, adding that Bergey and Vestmannaey are now tied up over Easter.
“It’s time to stop for the spawning period and it’s good to get a break. We’ll be back to sea after Easter.”
