Iceland’s fishing fleet caught some 239,204 metric tons (MT) of wild-capture fish and shellfish in the first-quarter of this year, generating a first-sales value of almost ISK 43.2 billion (USD 356.2 million, EUR 292.5 million). These year-start totals represent increases of 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively, compared with the corresponding period of 2020.
The country’s January through March 2021 demersal landings increased by 10 percent year-on-year to 137,537 MT, with the value up 2 percent to ISK 32.1 billion (USD 265.1 million, EUR 217.7 million). Of this, cod accounted for 85,163 MT and ISK 22.2 billion (USD 182.2 million, EUR 149.7 million), with the volume rising by 7 percent and the value on par with a year previously.
Also in this category in Q1 2021, 15,859 MT of haddock earned ISK 3.8 billion (USD 33.1 million, EUR 27.2 million), 15,201 MT of saithe generated sales of ISK 2.2 billion (USD 18.2 million, EUR 15 million), and 13,290 MT of redfish made ISK 2.8 billion (USD 23.2 million, EUR 19 million).
Meanwhile, Iceland’s flatfish catch increased 88 percent in volume to 5,433 MT, earning ISK 2 billion (USD 16.6 million, EUR 13.6 million), a rise of 71 percent.
Its shellfish landings were up 12 percent to 646 MT, valued at ISK 153 million (USD 1.3 million, EUR 1 million), up 14 percent.
Offering the country’s largest volume increase, the pelagic catch in Q1 2021 totaled 95,452 MT, up 81 percent on a year previously. This was worth ISK 8.9 billion (USD 73.7 million, EUR 60.5 million), a jump of 510 percent.
The rise was largely attributable to a capelin catch of 70,728 MT, worth NOK 8.2 billion (USD 67.9 million, EUR 55.8 million). No capelin was landed in 2020.
Also within the pelagic category, the herring volume lifted by 7 percent to 1,599 MT, worth ISK 101 million (USD 836,318, EUR 637,035), while blue whiting slipped 55 percent in size to 23,125 MT valued 57 percent lower than in Q1 2020 at ISK 594 million (USD 4.9 million, EUR 4 million).
Photo courtesy of J_K/Shutterstock
