The Research LK 62 has just completed three trips for MSC certified North Sea herring and encountered good marks of fish, which were landed into Peterhead.
Skippered by Gary Williamson, the 79m vessel left Lerwick on 12 July for her first trip and completed three tows for a total of 180 tonnes on grounds 45 miles south-east of Fair Isle, with the fish averaging a decent 190g in weight. The herring was landed into the Lunar processing facility at Peterhead.
Heading straight back to sea after landing, the Research then ventured to a fishing area slightly closer to Fair Isle, achieving 470 tonnes for three tows. The herring were smaller this time – averaging around 170g, with the trip cut short to fit in with Lunar’s weekend production pattern.
Richard Willamson, who is the Mate on the Research, said: “As we headed back to Peterhead, we detected an abundance of herring on our fish finders, which were most probably smaller herring, and which bodes well for the future health of the stock. There seems to be plenty of herring about south-east of Fair Isle.”
This abundance observed by the Research is reflected in the 2027 ICES advice for a 21% quota increase next year.
For the Research’s third trip, the vessel headed to waters about 50 miles east of Orkney in search of larger herring, resulting in 450 tonnes for three tows, with the fish this time averaging 180g. One or two more future trips are planned until the vessel’s quota allocation is taken up.
Normally, the Research fishes later in the season towards the end of August and into September for the herring roe fish market, but moved their activity to July to keep the Lunar processing facility busy by filling the temporary supply gap left by the company’s Lunar Bow PD 265 having just been sold to Norway, and new sister vessel Pathway PD 165 nearing completion at Karstensens’ Skagen yard. The new Lunar Bow is expected to be completed in late 2027.
Just prior to being sold, the Lunar Bow participated in a fishery in June for the premium Dutch maatjes market. Maatjes herring a highly prized local delicacy that has been an integral part of the tradition of The Netherlands for over 600 years. Maatjes is a premium, lightly brined product, consisting of the first, high-fat content summer-caught herring of the year. To be classed as maatjes, the herring must also have a rich stomach content.
Following the Lunar Bow’s short fishery, the Research was the next Scottish vessel to head to sea for herring, with the rest of the fleet doing so over the coming weeks.
North Sea herring is one of the longest running MSC certified fisheries in the UK, having first been certified in 2008. Scottish herring vessels also participate in the pioneering Scottish Pelagic Industry-Science Data Collection Programme, which has now become the main source of biological data on pelagic fish catches in Scotland, and which is used in the ICES stock assessment process.