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HB Grandi, one of Iceland's main pelagic fishing companies, has said most of the mackerel it is catching and processing is now going for human consumption and not for fish meal or oil as has been the case in the past.
Iceland is at odds with the EU and Norway because of its self declared 146,000 ton mackerel quotas many believ could destroy stocks over the long term.
So far this season Iit will end next month) around 10,000 tonnes of mackerel and herring products have been frozen at HB Grandi’s pelagic factory in Vopnafjördur, or approximately 3000 tonnes more than at the same time last year, said the company
It adds that this increase is "particularly remarkable" in that landings have been lower this year than last summer, mainly because three of its vessels have been late on the scene for a variety of reasons.
According to Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson, in charge of HB Grandi’s pelagic department, the company has a good quota position. Around 8000 tonnes of herring and 9000 tonnes of mackerel have been caught so far, and the company has a 20,800 tonne quota for Atlanto-Scandian herring and a 15,500 tonne mackerel quota. Altogether, HB
Grandi’s vessels have 19,000 tonnes of these 36.300 tonne quotas left to be caught.
The company said: "Fishing and production have been going well, with the emphasis placed on mackerel. The bulk of recent catches have been mackerel and this has all been processed for human consumption."Iceland says its waters are so rich with mackerel that schools of the fish have even been spotted swimming Reykjavik harbour. Exploratory talks were held between Iceland, Norway and the EU recently to try to find a way out of the current dispute.
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