The ship Börkur NK 122 has caught and carried 1.5 million tons of fish to land since Síldarvinnslan in Neskaupstaður, east Iceland, bought it five years after its making in 1973. No other Icelandic ship boasts such an achievement.
A capelin fishing vessel. Photo by Bjarni Brynjólfsson.
The ship was renamed Birtingur this week and set out to finish the ongoing capelin fishing season, after which its future is uncertain, Morgunblaðið reports.
A new Börkur, the previous Norwegian ship Torbas, arrived in Neskaupstaður the same day.
Sixteen of Iceland’s 24 pelagic fishing vessels were made before 1990 and the three oldest were built in 1960. It is considered necessary to renew the fleet.
Meanwhile, fishing vessels operating from Snæfellsnes peninsula in west Iceland have been very successful so far this month and haven’t had to sail far for a good catch, as stated on aflafrettir.com.
The small net fishing boat Arnar SH returned with 23 tons of fish after one tour and was full to the brim. According to captain Guðbrandur Björgvinsson, the value of the catch is almost ISK 8 million (USD 65,000, EUR 49,000).
The capelin season, which began one month ago, has been fairly successful in spite of unfavorable weather conditions; on Tuesday 200,000 tons of capelin—one third of the overall quota—had been caught. Most of the fish goes to fish meal production, ruv.is reports.
Click here to read more about the capelin’s importance to Icelandic society.
ESA
