The Artemis BF60 has enjoyed an excellent start to the North Sea herring season, encountering productive marks of good-sized fish.
The 75m vessel set sail on her first North Sea herring trip of the year from Peterhead on 12 August to an area about 25 miles east of Fair Isle, before moving slightly further south the following day. She completed three hauls over the period for a total catch of 670 tonnes, with the fish averaging around 200g in weight. The good size of the fish perfectly met the requirements of processor Northbay Pelagic in Peterhead where Artemis landed her catch.
For the second trip, the Artemis departed Peterhead on 16 August for grounds 90 miles north-east of Peterhead and achieved around 230 tonnes for two hauls. The vessel moved north the following day and caught a further 470 tonnes for another two hauls, with the herring moving slowly westwards. These fish were larger than those caught on the previous trip, averaging about 235g.
Skipper Adam Wiseman said: “We have found a good abundance of herring on our first two trips and it has been encouraging to encounter good-sized fish. We have also heard reports from other boats of smaller fish being about, which indicates there is a good mix of year classes present, which bodes well for the future.
“We like to work short trips to give Northbay Pelagic the freshest, best quality fish we can. The market demand for the herring his year has been good, which has been aided by North Sea herring’s MSC certification. We should all be eating more herring because it is incredibly affordable and is very high in omega-3. From a pure health point of view, it’s a good a source of protein as chicken and lots of other meat.”
Adam says he expects the Artemis to complete three more trips of smaller volume catches to complete the vessel’s herring season, all of which will be landed into Northbay Pelagic.