Harbour News
Whitefish totalled 5000 boxes from 8 Anglo-Spanish liners and 3 Scottish trawlers. The Anglo fleet continue to land top quality line caught ling and hake whilst Scots lads concentrate on monkfish and haddock from the Shelf Edge and Rockall. The BF registered Endeavour made an unscheduled appearance when they towed in the INS registered Adventurer with a blown turbo. With quotas running low most boats are now on their last trip of the year before tying up for a well earned break.
The shellfish sector was a bit busier with the Stornoway prawn fleet making regular calls for ice, the offshore crabbers Our Hazel and Heather K plus the Gairloch prawn trawler Ocean Trust landing weekly and the local inshore fleet working away in a period of settled weather.
Ullapool, once the hub of Scottish pelagic effort rolled back the years last week. The Banff registered mid water trawler Krossfjord landing 85 tonnes of sprat from Loch Slapin in Skye and the Irish pair team Green Isle and Patric C landing 45 tonnes of mackerel from 30 miles north of the Butt of Lewis.
The non fishing sector saw the fish-farm support vessels Harvest Anne and Victoria Lady in for stores and equipment respectively and the Marine Scotland research vessel Scotia called in for a routine port call. Scotia, in the middle of the annual fourth quarter west coast demersal trawling survey reported reasonable catches on all grounds and even some haddocks in the Minch.
Constitutional News
In line with the 2011 Harbour revision Order and Trust Port Guidelines, 3 board vacancies were advertised, interviews carried out and appointments made over the past few weeks. The Trust is delighted to welcome Jo Munro and Topher Dawson to the Board. They bring considerable experience from the business, financial, engineering and leisure sectors and we look forward to their contribution as we embark on a really exciting phase of the Harbour’s development. We would also like to sincerely thank departing Trustees, Huisdean Mackay and Alistair Fraser for their contribution to the Board over the past number of years. Full details of the board membership and terms can be found here.
Harbour Projects
Work has started on the Morefield site and the great news is that local company Ullapool Construction successfully tendered for the contract and has been appointed to undertake the works. Likewise the contract for design development of the ferry pier extension was tendered through Public Contracts Scotland and has been awarded to Wallace Stone based in Dingwall. Great to see firms from the north taking forward these projects on behalf of the harbour.
Sail Training Competition
The Ullapool Harbour Trustees are once again offering to sponsor up to 6 local youths to take part in the Tall Ships races 2013 on the Wylde Swan. Application details were circulated this week in the High School and the closing date is December 17th. No sailing experience is required but enthusiasm and a sense of adventure will be a distinct advantage! To support this great cause, the 2013 Ullapool Harbour Calendar is available from the harbour office and various retail outlets around the village. All profits from calendar sales will be used to finance the sail trainees’ next Tall Ship adventure. There’s still just enough time to post one to loved ones for Christmas as a reminder of Ullapool.