Photo: Roger Nygård / NORGES SILDESALGSLAG (2020)

Pelagic fishing week 37 (Herring, Mackerel, Sprat, Norway pout and Blue whiting)

NORWAY
Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 06:00 (GMT + 9)

Rognsild season on luck and the mackerel fleet on its way to the Norwegian Sea.

North Sea herring:

This year's roe herring season for North Sea herring is coming to an end, and last week we received 5,400 tonnes of North Sea herring. Of this quantity, foreign boats have contributed 3,400 t, boats in the purse seine group with 1,800 t and from the boats that fish with trawls on the Edge, we have about 100 t for fishmeal / oil use.

The fishing for roe herring has taken place in two areas, where the Norwegian boats and a Swedish boat have fished close to the coast of England southeast of Middlesbrough. 

The Scottish / Irish boats have fished within 12 miles east of the Orkney Islands. Here the fishing was good in the beginning and then drifted off. This weekend it has picked up again here.

Kazunoto herring roe process (Photo: Stockfile)►

From the buyers, it is reported that the roe is beginning to become partially overripe, so we will probably go into the last week for the production of herring roe.

With increasing interest in herring roe around the world, several buyers have installed roe plants for this year's herring season. A look at the quantity of herring in August and so far in September shows that just under 40,000 tonnes of North Sea herring have been fished. The main part of this quantity is used to take out roe, in combination with fillet.

In the coming week, we expect few Norwegian boats in this fishery. A number of foreign boats still have a number of quotas left and if fishing picks up off the Orkney Islands, some will probably sail to Norway with herring.

Mackerel:

For mackerel, we have to go back to the end of May to find a lower weekly quantity. Only 124 tonnes are registered in the registration journal, of which 34 tonnes are from «Kantafiske».

The catch on the coast has mainly been in the area Sveio-Øygarden in Vestland county. The main reason for the low quantity on the coast is another week with a lot of wind and hopefully it will attract mackerel from the sea in the future.

From the Norwegian Sea, where foreign boats have fished well with trawls throughout the late summer, "Sjøbris" has been fishing in the Norwegian zone this weekend without being caught. Weather conditions have hampered fishing with seines.

With better weather prospects in the coming week, several boats have set off and set course for the northwest on Sunday. It will be exciting to see if the mackerel is available for net and what qualities the fish has. 

Last year, "Fiskebas" was the first boat out of this area with registration on 19 September. The quality then was excellent with little bait and a mackerel with firm fish meat.

Sea sprat:

From four boats we have reported more than 1,700 tonnes of sea sprat. The fishing has taken place in the German and Danish sectors in the southern part of the North Sea. All catches have been taken with trawls and fishing has been uneven.

Of this year's quota of 10,000 tonnes, 6,500 tonnes have now been fished from 12 boats. Another six boats can set sail in this fishery before 1 December.

Norway pout and Blue whiting

There has been relatively much activity in combi fishing along Kanten this summer. Last week, 1,800 tonnes of norway pout, 1,450 tonnes of blue whiting, 800 tonnes of horse mackerel, more than 350 tonnes of herring and some silver cod were caught.

For pout-catchers, 43,000 tonnes of the quota of 98,053 tonnes in the Norwegian zone have now been fished. 

For 2019, a total of 60,000 t of pout was fished and the boats are then on a good route to pass the fjord year's quantity.

Author: Kenneth Garvik / NORGES SILDESALGSLAG

editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

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