CAPELIN SEASON IN AKRANES

Issue 4
April 2015
HB Grandi Newsletter
Gunnar Hermannsson, Elín Káradóttir and Jón Helgason.
CAPELIN SEASON IN AKRANES
With the new year comes the annual capelin season. This year, fishing
commenced on 8 January and finished on 26 March. HB Grandi’s capelin roe
processing operations, which take place in Akranes and Vopnafjörður, began
with gusto in late February. The capelin season is a lively affair, with workers
in Akranes working 12 and 16-hour shifts. This report focuses on processing
operations there.
When we arrived in Akranes on 20 March, the season was drawing to a close.
Roe processing was still in full swing, however, and spirits were high. We met
Gunnar Hermannsson at his office in “Heimaskagahúsið”, where processing can
be observed through a large window. When asked about his role in all of this, he
became rather evasive, replying that he is a kind of “all-round” worker during the
season, although his colleagues insist that he is the one who drives the whole
operation. This is not a typical office. It has room for many workers and there is
small coffee corner. We sit there for just under an hour and the place is bustling
with activity. There is no time for an actual interview about the capelin, but we are
allowed to write down anything that we feel is fit to publish. Arnar Eysteinsson,
sheep farmer in Gilsfjörður in Dalasýsla, enters the room. He has worked here
the last few capelin seasons. Every year, he leaves his farm to manage the work
of contractors during the weeks of roe processing. About half of the workers
during the season are contractors like him, mostly from the surrounding area; a
total of 50 people.
Arnar Eysteisson
2
3
The capelin is pumped into the sorting area (1) where males and females are separated. The females are then pumped into a chute where the roe is seperated from the
entrails. The roe is then washed, cleaned and drained (2). The males and entrails are used for fish meal. The roe is then packed in 7.5 kg bags and frozen in blocks (3).
The office is lively. People come and go,
evaluate the colour of the roe, as it can be
different depending on what the capelin
feed on at any given time, and debate
whether the capelin has migrated along
its traditional route around the country or
whether there was a westerly route this year,
i.e. that the capelin came from the north,
from the Westfjords. Gunnar maintains that
it migrated along the southern shore this
year, as the colour of the roe is similar to
what it has been for the last few years. This
is an ever-popular subject for discussion with
no concrete conclusion. Nobody can tell for
sure.
February. According to Gunnar, the prospects are very bright. The fishing is going
well despite the bad weather and it looks like
the season will be very good indeed. The roe
is sold all over the world: to Japan, Korea,
Taiwan, Russia and Belarus. However, Vignir
G. Jónsson, HB Grandi’s subsidiary, is the
largest buyer. Approximately 600 tonnes of
roe have been reserved for Vignir. Vignir’s
main markets are the U.S.A. and Europe.
There are not only workers in the office.
Customers also keep watch 24 hours a day.
This morning it was a Japanese man who was
walking in and out of the processing plant
with roe samples. Jón Helgason also played
host to a rabbi from Israel, who was making
a quality inspection.
“We’re still working at full speed and probably will continue to do so for several days.
There are 100 of us working in capelin
processing, day and night. We haven’t
stopped since we began packing, for nine
days and nights. The shifts could not be
longer!” says Gunnar. “There are 12-hour
shifts and we also have 16-hour shifts.
Around 50 workers are HB Grandi employees and there is a similar number of contractors who stay in accommodation here in
town.”
This year, roe processing commenced on 24
“Yes, people are prepared to work hard
during the season. I remember one year
when I bought all the beds in Rúmfatalagerinn. Three people took turns sleeping
in them in each 24-hour period. They were
a great buy! That same year, I rented a hotel
in town for customers. I arrived with many
people late one night and tried making the
beds for everyone, although I couldn’t see
anything in the dark. The next morning
we realised that they had all slept on silk
tablecloths!” recalls Jón Helgason with a
hearty laugh.
Despite the lively conversation, there is little
time to hang around and chat. Gunnar leads
us through the processing plant and explains
how everything works. The processing is
well organised, from the moment that the
ship comes to port until the roe has been
packed. The cleaning equipment is highly
efficient, delivering clean roe that is ready to
be packed. According to Gunnar, the equipment has undergone many improvements
recently, so quality is very high.
Valný Benediktsdóttir.
“Spirits are very high during the season. The
atmosphere is usually pleasant, but it always
special when the capelin starts coming in.
Everyone works hard and stays up late, so
people are merry. Loud laughter can often
be heard here in the cafeteria!” Valný arrives
at 7am and leaves again at 7pm, when
another woman arrives to take the other
12-hour shift.
We complete our tour in the cafeteria,
where Valný Benediktsdóttir greets us with
a smile. Valný is a familiar figure to most.
She runs the canteen at HB Grandi’s fish
processing plant in Akranes. During the
season, she works 12-hour shifts at the cafeteria in Heimaskagahúsið, where she feeds
the tired workers. The cafeteria has many
things to offer those in need of energy to
fuel their hard work. With a laugh, Valný
points to ionised water (supposedly the cure
for all ills), fruit bowls, bread and the lasagne
that is today’s lunch. In the afternoon, she
plans to fry round dougnuts known as “love
balls” for the gang. “There were no love
affairs during this season, so the least I can
do is make love balls,” she explains with a
twinkle in her eye.
But why has she worked here for so long?
“The atmosphere here has always been good
and this a good place to work. Working in
a freezing plant has both advantages and
drawbacks, as is the case with most other
jobs. It’s good to not have to worry that
your tasks won’t be carried out if you or your
child falls ill and it’s easy to get time off from
work if needed,” says Valný.
“Valný began working for Haraldur BöðvarWhat do you do at the close of the season?
sson when she was 17 and has worked for the
“Something fun! Last time, we took a bus to
company almost non-stop ever since. “When
Loðnuveiði
HB for
Granda
2011-2015
Dalasýsla
authentic
rural festivities. We’ll
I began, the capelin was processed in the
see what we do this year.”
freezing plant. It was carried inside
in trays
120.000
107.000
and poured onto the tables, where100.000
we would
HB GRANDI
CATCH
86.150
sort the males from the females by hand.
80.000
Magn [tonn]
Magn [tonn]
2011-2015
63.332
Back then, the roe was packed directly from61.066 OF CAPELIN
Loðnuveiði HB
Granda 2011-2015
Amount (tons)
Catch[Tonn]
(tons)
Veiði
the tubs. The tubs had a rack that 60.000
was used
120.000
to drain the roe. This is completely40.000
different
107.000
23.937
now, as production has greatly increased,”
100.000
86.150
20.000
says Valný. She began filling in at the canteen
80.000
in 2004 and became a full-time employee
0
63.332
61.066
2012 2013 2014 2015
there in 2009. She tells us that she is very2011 60.000
interested in food and enjoys her work in
40.000
23.937
the canteen tremendously. Before that,
20.000
she usually worked in the processing plant,
packing cod nape fillets and roes during the
0
capelin season.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
CAPELIN
The capelin is a small pelagic fish that
travels in schools in the Northern Hemisphere. The Icelandic capelin is a highly
important link in the ecosystem of the
oceans surrounding Iceland, as it is an
important food source for species such
as cod, saithe and whales who prey on the
capelin during its migration.
In the summer, the capelin dwells in the
cold waters of the Arctic Ocean before
migrating towards Iceland in the autumn.
The capelin form schools east of the
country before migrating clockwise along
the southern coast and spawning south and
west of the country. On rare occasions,
some capelin migrate counter-clockwise
to the west.
Capelin is caught from January to March,
during the spawning migration. The Marine
Research Institute measures the population size regularly every year, but the final
estimate can not be made until the schools
are becoming more dense, right around
when the fishing starts. Consequently, the
total catch is often not decided until the
middle of the season, which is usually not
Veiðicase
[Tonn]with species with a longer lifespan
the
who dwell permanently within the Icelandic continental shelf. Capelin is used for
meal and oil while some are frozen whole
for roe processing during the latter half of
the season.
Source: Hjálmar Vilhjálmsson. Loðna – göngur, veiðar, rannsóknir.
CAPELIN SEASON 2015
Photo: Fanney Þ.
Vignir employees during Þúfa’s visit last autumn.
CAPELIN ROE BECOMES MASAGO
As mentioned, Vignir G. Jónsson has
reserved approximately 600 tonnes of
capelin roe this season and is HB Grandi’s
single largest capelin roe buyer. Most of this
is used for masago, but capelin caviar is also
produced. Masago is in sushi and other Japanese dishes. The roes are desalinated in fresh
water, coloured and mixed with selected
spices. Masago is usually orange-coloured.
Vignir also produces tobiko, which is similar
to masago except that tobiko is produces
from flying fish roe. Like masago, tobiko is
usually orange although both products are
available in other colours, such as green,
blue and red. The colour depends on the
spices and colouring mixed with the roes.
Tobiko is more brittle and the flying fish roe
is larger than capelin roe.
The masago is sold to the USA and Europe.
Norðanfiskur gets a small portion, which is
sold to Icelandic restaurants.
HB Grandi’s total allowable catch quota for
capelin this season was 72,624 tons but only
63,332 tons were caught. Honestly it can
be said that the season was quite unusual.
In mid February capelin was being caught in
North of Skagaströnd but normally at this
time it is caught in the East of the country.
Storms hit us from the beginning of the
season until the very end which made it
hard for the ships to fish.
Even though it was not possible to catch all
the TAC this season, land production of the
catch went really well. Larger portion was
used for fish meal and oil because of high
prices and uncertainty in the frozen wholeround market. On the other hand the roe
season went really well and production
records were set in both processing plants.
This season the production reached 4,500
tons of capelin roe compared to about
2,000 tons production in 2013 and 2014.
Because of low production in the last years,
the command today is high for capelin roe
and future prospects are good.
VIGNIR G. JÓNSSON
Vignir G. Jónsson is a family-run company,
founded in England in 1970. Throughout the
years, the company has become renowned
for its high-quality roe products. HB Grandi
acquired Vignir G. Jónsson in 2013 and the
company is now operated as HB Grandi’s
subsidiary.
The company specialises in products made
from roe from lumpfish, capelin, flying
fish, cod, haddock, ling, saithe and salmon.
Development work is a major factor in the
company’s operations, and the company has
good facilities for final processing. Vignir has
approximately 45 employees and is located in
Akranes. Approximately 1,500 tonnes of roe
products are produced every year and sold in
15 European and North-American countries.
Photo: Shutterstock
CALIFORNIA ROLL
The California roll is one of the most
popular sushi rolls, made inside-out with
the rice facing out. The roll contains delicacies such as cucumber, crab meat and
avocado. The roll is then sprinkled with
masago for decoration.
The California roll was invented in Los
Angeles circa 1960 and was intended to
introduce sushi to Americans. The venture
was a success and it is now the USA’s most
popular sushi roll.
ÞÚFA HB GRANDI NEWSLETTER
Guarantor: Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson
Editor: Björg Torfadóttir
Design/layout: Fanney Þórðardóttir
Photos: Kristján Maack
E-mail: frettabref@hbgrandi.is