Iceland’s Minister of Fisheries Kristján Thór Júlíusson has made a significant change to the regulations governing catch weight registration, treating catches landed without ice and chilled using iceless storage systems on board fishing vessels.
The change in regulation means that 0.6% of the weight of fish chilled without ice can be subtracted from port weighbridge fish weights to account for ‘drip’, the weight of fluid that the fish take on when chilled using this method.
The Ministry’s decision to license this 0.6% subtraction is based on the results of an extensive study by the Directorate of Fisheries which identified the drip weight as being between 0.4 and 1.1% of the weight of fish, and the decision to take this drip factor into account is intended to ensure that catch weights are correctly recorded.
“There has been a sharp increase in the number of fishing vessels where catches are stored without ice on board. This has been an interesting development to watch, not least because this is Icelandic innovation at work and a confirmation that service and high-tech companies in Iceland are at the cutting edge of using technology to maximise catch quality,” said Minister of Fisheries Kristján Thór Júlíusson.
“It’s important that the regulatory authorities monitor these developments and smooth the way for them, including by ensuring that regulations encourage such development. That’s the key aim of the changes we are making.”
