A series of strong blue whiting and capelin landings in Neskaupstaður over recent days has marked a busy start to January for Síldarvinnslan’s fleet and processing plants. Photo by Smári Geirsson
Icelandic fish processor Síldarvinnslan is welcoming both blue whiting and capelin landings as production ramps up at the start of 2026.
Börkur NK arrived in Neskaupstaður last night with 3,200 tonnes of blue whiting, caught south and southeast of the Faroe Islands.
Captain Herbert Jónsson, taking his first trip in the captain’s chair on Börkur after many years as mate on Beitir NK and a career with Síldarvinnslan vessels dating back to 1989, said the trip had gone smoothly.
“It went well. We caught the catch in seven hauls. In the shortest hole we caught 170 tonnes, but then the catch was usually between 400 and 500 tonnes. In the largest hole there were 610 tonnes,” said Herbert.
Beitir NK is also heading for port today with 2,600 tonnes of blue whiting and is expected later this afternoon.
Captain Ólafur Gunnar Guðnason reported favourable conditions at sea:
“We were fishing right on the line between the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands and the fishing went well. The catch was made in seven hauls and they yielded from 200 to 500 tonnes. The weather was good until the very end and of course the weather is a big factor in this fishing trip like any other.”
Capelin Processing Begins
Síldarvinnslan’s fishmeal plant began processing the new landings of capelin, with operations manager Hafþór Eiríksson noting strong raw material quality.
“This is the finest raw material and the plant is off to a good start. I haven’t seen fat measurements yet, but the fish should be reasonably fat at this time of year. I expect the ships to return to blue whiting fishing in Faroese jurisdiction when the landings are finished,” said Hafþór.
Staff at Síldarvinnslan’s fish processing plant were also pleased as the first capelin of the season was received on Tuesday, brought in by the Greenlandic vessel Polar Amaroq, which landed 340 tonnes caught east of Iceland.
Operations manager Geir Sigurpáll Hlöðversson said the capelin were of excellent quality.
“This capelin is really good and sorts well. The average size is good at about 37 pieces per kilo. We are only on a day shift and yesterday we processed about 120 tonnes of the load that Polar Amaroq brought in. The start of the season is always slow because there is much to organise. Now everything is running smoothly and we will finish processing the load today. Everyone here is smiling and happy, and people hope the ongoing capelin search goes well and that more quota will be issued,” said Geir Sigurpáll.
