Cooler trawler Kaldbakur EA-1, operated by Útgerðarfélag Akureyringa, landed 190 tonnes of premium fish after just five days at sea, and the processed catch was delivered to consumers in France later that week.

“We fished for three and a half days, plus 17 hours of steam each way to and from the fishing grounds off the west coast,” said skipper Sigtryggur Gíslason, adding that Kaldbakur left for the same funds as soon as his fish was landed.

“Most of the catch is cod, plus a bit of saithe, and we have an average of nine tonnes per tow on this trip. It is essential to manage the catch as well as possible and to land it fresh. All on-board catch handling processes are focused on maximizing quality. There are thirteen crew members on board and it is a very well coordinated crew with a lot of experience. We are working with two full crews and the current crew will disembark after the Sailors ‘Day break.’

According to onshore production manager Gestur Geirsson, by Kaldbakur the catches are mainly processed at the Akureyri plant, while some are sent to the Dalvík plant for processing, and most of it has been processed within a few days.

“This is a high quality raw material and most of it goes to our customers in France, shipped by air as well as by sea. Processing is fast, because our customers want the fish to be as fresh as possible. Fish shipped by air to France reached customers the same week. To make this all possible, there is a lot of coordination and careful organization. ‘

He commented that the Sailors’ Day break on the first weekend in June presents some challenges for production as there will be no landings during the following week.
“So there will probably be three trawlers disembarking on Friday. Everything works and it’s easier when the fishing is as good as it has been recently, ”said Gestur Geirsson.