45 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 12,400 boxes from eleven Scottish trawl and five Anglo longline landings. Scottish effort is concentrated on grounds 30miles north west of the Butt of Lewis and is mainly targeting squid with a by-catch of monkfish, haddock and cod. Squid is a valuable species and has the added benefit of not falling under any quota restrictions.
As a consignment port with no fish auction, Ullapool is dependent on Peterhead for the onward sale of a large proportion of Scottish fish landed here. A row has erupted in Peterhead; the port authority is challenging the practice of bid-sharing which has incensed the buyers. Bid-sharing is when one buyer bids for the fish and shares the bought fish with other buyers which removes the competitive nature of the auction. Vessels are being urged to boycott Peterhead on a Wednesday until such time as an agreement is reached. Sadly Ullapool is an innocent victim as vessels will not land and consign from here mid-week. Kinlochbervie and Scrabster markets are the beneficiaries. The Anglo vessels continue to target hake and ling from deepwater landing weekly.
Shellfish activity has been very quiet since the turn of the year mainly due to the unsettled weather. Five visiting prawn trawlers came in to land and take ice and combined with the efforts of the resident fleet.
Once again, non-fishing consisted predominantly of aquaculture vessels with fifteen arrivals from the sector. The brand new tank ship treatment vessel Inter Atlantic (pictured) sailed from the shipbuilders in Turkey to Ullapool for fuel and stores before heading to the Western Isles for her first deployment. The MCA tug Ievoli Black made her monthly visit for fuel and a crew change and the Dutch dredger Causeway – working on the Stornoway deep-water port project – came over for fuel
Shore Street Project Update
Following the two-week holiday closure the contractor has returned to continue the promenade works and make a start on the Shore St drainage system. Frost and snow curtailed progress for a couple of days as the quarry was unable to supply concrete or rock armour. Thankfully warmer weather is on the way and with that normal progress will resume.