The course of the Fisheries as per week 7/2014

Blue whiting
Last week the first vessels started their catching of capelin west of Ireland. The fleet has been operating in international waters as far south as close to the 49° 30' N , 16-17° W. Weather conditions have been hampering fishing, - in periods with winds stronger than hurricane.
The first vessel to deliver was "Eros" with 2.300 MT, also being last week's registered volume. On Sunday 4 vessels were left at the field and the catching was reported to be good. More vessels are expected to join in a couple of days. The weather forecast is better for days to come,  - but unexpected changes may occur.

Capelin at Iceland
By midnight on Saturday  the capelin season at Iceland was intended to cease, however, Friday afternoon the access to catch in Icelandic waters was extended until 22^nd of Feb.  Most vessels having been operating in these waters had already started to move out and just 4 vessels were left at the "saga island" to further watch for the capelin. There were no catches last week. Thus just 300 MT of the 40.000 MT quota have been caught.

Capelin in the Barents Sea.
In the Barents Sea close to 5.500 MT of capelin were caught last week. 8 purse seiners and one coastal vessel have registered catches. 1.100 MT were sold for meal&oil purposes. The remaining 4.400 MT are sold as mixed, with size from 46 to 55 pcs/kg,  - not the best desirable quality.  The roe percentage is now 7 -9 %. By the beginning of the week the catches were taken close to the North Cape Bank, grid 12-12. On Sunday one catch was taken some 20 n.m. north of the Hjelmsøya island.  Also further south vessels have been looking for capelin, but nothing is registered.
From Russia it is reported to be some trawlers operating in an area from 71° N to 71° 40' N and 37 -38° E. But the results are not the best and again the size is fairly small. Price related to mixed catches were from minimum price NOK 1,80 to 1,83 and NOK 1,47 for m&o.

Atlanto Scandic herring
As foreseen the catching of Atlanto Scandic herring has been more modest last week, still a low result of just 2.400 MT is explained by periods of bad weather. 11 vessels have been operating, one trawler and ten coastal vessels. The activity is moving southwards and catches are taken off Bremanger, grid 2804. Herring taken close to Runde island is closer to spawning as the roe is found "looser " and observations tell that in the catches herring is found already finished spawning. The herring further south is later in the process, but also here spawning has started. Prices last week: from NOK 3,70 to 5,26 with an average at NOK 4,99.

Mackerel
Six foreign vessels did deliver in Norway last week, totalling 7.000 MT of mackerel. The catching area is steadily moving south, and the latest reports are from west of the southernmost end of Ireland, grid 4984. The size: 379 g. All catches are delivered on contracts.

Miscellaneous
Last week there were fishery negotiations between Norway and the EU, but on Friday it was made clear that there was a breakdown in the negotiations. When the parties intend to meet again, is at the moment not known.