Around 2,700 tonnes of fish have been landed so far this season since fishing started at the beginning of this month and there are now close to 150 people employed at the plant.
Each of HB Grandis three pelagic vessels have landed twice, with fishing grounds off the east coast only eight hours steaming time away.
According to Magns Rbertsson, in charge of production at the Vopnafjrdur plant, the fish has been fresh but has contained an amount of feed.
He said that landings have been approximately 60 per cent herring, with fishing managed as far as possible to catch more herring than mackerel this early in the season.
"All of the herring goes for frozen butterfly fillet production. As for the mackerel, the smaller grades have been headed and eviscerated, while the larger sizes have gone straight to the blast freezers," Magns Rbertsson said.
A tiny proportion of whole fish has been sent to fishmeal production, although all of the waste and offcuts are processed into meal
Herring and Mackerel Production Supports Jobs
ICELAND - Production of herring and mackerel is n full swing at HB Grandis pelagic complex at Vopnafjrdur.
by Lucy Towers
