The course of the fisheries per week 22 - 2025

North Sea Herring:

We had the best herring week of the summer with 8,200 tonnes recorded. The volume was distributed across 27 different vessels, with catches ranging from just a few tonnes to 800 tonnes as the largest. The best reporting days were Wednesday with 1,800 tonnes and Sunday with 2,000 tonnes.

The best fishing occurred around the new moon on Tuesday, when several boats had good catches. As the week progressed, the fishing slowed and became more uneven, making it difficult for purse seiners to find “spots” to cast on.

This week’s fishing mainly took place in the area from south of the Frigg field to north of Oseberg — west of Bømlo to west of Øygarden.

The average size of the herring ranged from 108 grams at the smallest to 170 grams at the largest, with the largest herring found further north. The overall average was 140 grams.

The majority of the catch — 6,300 tonnes — was sold for human consumption, and the remaining 1,900 tonnes went to meal/oil production.

Buyers for human consumption report that the fat content has reached a good level. Several report production of matjes herring. If the herring size increases, it will also be possible to produce skinless fillets from the North Sea herring.

There will likely continue to be strong interest in herring fishing in the North Sea, but a low-pressure system bringing strong winds may hinder fishing in the first part of the week.

Mackerel:

This week, mackerel also appeared along the coast, and the smaller vessels in the coastal group caught over 150 tonnes.

The mackerel was mainly caught in Rogaland and Vestland, with the best fishing in the municipalities of Bømlo and Suldal. Mackerel was also caught in Møre and Trøndelag.

The mackerel has been relatively large, ranging from 350 to 550 grams. Normally, mackerel contains roe at this time of year and spawns around the midsummer period (St. Hans).

Blue Whiting / Sandeel:

Six vessels caught a total of 4,100 tonnes of blue whiting last week. Catches ranged from 270 tonnes to a full 1,950 tonnes. The largest catch came from “Havfisk” on its maiden voyage fishing in the Faroese zone.

The other catches were made in the North Sea, where 250 tonnes of sprat were also taken.

A few more blue whiting catches are expected in the coming week.

From “Astrid Marie,” a Swedish vessel, we received a catch of 920 tonnes of sandeel. This was fished in the German sector of the EU zone.

Bergen, 02.06.2025
Kenneth Garvik
[email protected]

This article has been translated using Microsoft Copilot and may contain errors.