94 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 27,000 boxes from twenty three Scottish trawlers and a single Anglo freezer netter. The Rockall haddock fishery has been reasonably successful this spring with an abundance of small haddocks on the grounds together with a by-catch of cod and monkfish. The haddock stock reproduces in the springtime and post spawning, the fish are very thin and pretty valueless. Scottish effort will shift away from Rockall in the next couple of weeks returning in early summer once the fish have fattened up again. As ever the Anglo fleet is conspicuous by its absence with vessels continuing to work and land further north. A single freezer netter landed a good shot of processed and frozen-at-sea monkfish from deep water grounds.
Shellfish activity continues to flourish for the period. There were forty-one landings from visiting prawn trawlers which combined with the efforts of the local inshore fleet. Boats are reporting a decrease in quality and quantity which is par for the course at this time of year – May is traditionally a particularly barren month for the prawn trawlers and creelers.
Non-fishing was busy with twenty visits from aquaculture support vessels. The survey vessel Sir John Murray called in for equipment, the Ievoli Black visited for a crew change and the Shetland- based pelagic vessel Altaire (picture courtesy of Stephen Gourlay) called in to collect equipment and scientists. The triennial intentional mackerel stock assessment survey is underway, with a fleet of research vessels plankton sampling from Lofoten Islands in the north the Bay of Biscay in the south. Altaire has been chartered by the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen to participate.
The 2025 cruise season got off to the earliest start with Viking Vela making her maiden call to the village on Monday 30th March and returning two weeks later with both visits in glorious sunshine. The new cruise reception building (part-funded by HIE) was very well received by both passengers and crew. Feedback from local businesses has been extremely positive some reporting record daily takings. A further thirty-nine cruise visits are in the diary for the season.
There’s lots to look forward to throughout May with eight cruise calls during the month, Dutch tall ship Thalassa on 9th, the Custom & Classic Motorcycle Show on 17th. Paddle Steamer Waverley returns on 22nd and the annual Skiff Regatta starts on 23rd.
Many thanks to all those who applied for our most recent vacancy of handyman/engineer. Following strong competition, the appointment has been filled by local Elphin man Craig Venters.