The year’s first catch of tuna made by fishing company Vísir in Grindavík came ashore this morning and consisted of 19 fish.
The fish were processed under the watchful eye of a Japanese inspector and will be flown to market in Japan, America and Europe.
The fishing boat Jóhanna Gísladóttir caught the tuna on a five-day tour 150 nautical miles south of Iceland. The fish were caught on lines 35 km long, with 2,000 hooks.
The ship landed 19 fish—each weighing 150-180 kg, RÚV reports.
This is the second year Vísir has been granted a tuna quota. Last year the company was permitted to catch 26 tons of tuna; which equated to 140 fish. This year the quota is 32 tons and it is expected to equate to around 200 fish.
Kristján Jóhanesson, sales manager at Vísir, said that Jóhanna Gísladóttir will head back out to sea first thing tomorrow, “And we plan to be fishing into early September, or just until the quota limit is reached.”
Moriwaka, an inspector from Japan, is in Grindavík to make sure the fish are correctly handled. Moriwaka is well-known in his homeland and is even accompanied in Iceland by a Japanese television journalist and cameraman.
The tuna are extremely valuable fish and need to be processed with great care and high speed, before being rushed for export by air.
Moriwaka believes tuna from Iceland is among the best it is possible to find. “It is because of the temperature of the sea, it is because of the environment they grow in, it is the feed which they eat, making this some of the best tuna it is possible to get.”
