The capelin still north of Iceland

The research vessel Árni Friðriksson arrived in Akureyri today after exploring the capelin spawning migrations east and north of Iceland for about a week. The main objective of the survey was to map the distribution of the capelin stock to assist for the planning and the assessment of a comprehensive survey. The main findings are that the traditional capelin spawning migration east of the country has not yet advanced as the front of the migration was northeast of Langanes and the abundance there was insignificant (Figure 1). Capelin were observed from there along the continental shelf edge towards Kolbeinsey Ridge and further west where the density was highest. Stormy weather prevented the vessel from covering the area further west, as did sea ice off the Westfjords.

Considering these findings, the plan is to conduct more comprehensive measurements of the capelin stock in the beginning of next week on five vessels, the research vessels Árni Friðriksson and Þórunni Þórðardóttir, and the fishing vessels Barði, Heimaey and Polar Ammassak.

Figure 1. Árni Friðriksson tracks in the capelin survey 5-12 January 2026 (pink) along with acoustic values ​​for capelin (red lines perpendicular to the survey tracks). The grey line shows the 400 m depth contour.