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RISING sea temperatures appear to be pushing mackerel shoals further to the East of Iceland, according to one of the main trawler companies fishing for the species.
Arnthór Hjörleifsson, skipper of the Lundey, one of HB Grandi's pelagic trawlers, said that there had been significant changes in the last few days with the temperature of the water rising by about two and a half degrees centigrade in a fairly short time which was having an impact on fishing operations. Until recently fishing on the east side of the country had been poor, but the Lundey has recently landed a catch of 500 tons of mackerel.
The skipper added: "Mackerel fishing has been poor recently and the water has been very cold. Over the last few days the water temperature has risen from 5.5°C to around 7 to 8°C, which makes all the difference for mackerel. There have been some poor marks, but these are now getting stronger and small marks are giving us much better fishing." Arnthór Hjörleifsson said he and his crew were entirely alone during the trip with no sight of any other ships.
He also said that there were no herring to be seen where they were fishing, although there have been reports of herring catches both further north and south.
Currently, reports of Iceland's progress on mackerel fishing are like a red rag to fishermen in Scotland, Ireland and Norway who have protested that the country's self-declared mackerel quota (along with that of the Faroe Islands) are threatening the future survival of the fishery.
There were calls from fishing groups for a total ban on all Icelandic fish products last week when they met the EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, although she stopped short of endorsing those demands.
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