11 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 2100 boxes from the Scottish trawler Adventurer and the Spanish liner Landora, both of whom made two good landings. The Adventurer tied up for Christmas and went back to sea on the 28th December once the weather had calmed down a bit. As was the case at the end of the year, heavy hauls of quality monkish all along the deepwater edge made for a very productive New Year trip. The catch was consigned to Peterhead on 3rd January for the first auction of the year where demand was keen and prices high. The Adventurer returned to sea to complete her fourteen-day trip and landed a further good shot of quality fish once again destined for Peterhead market. The Spanish liner Landora fished on over the festive break landing quality hake and ling weekly with all catches consigned to market in Spain.
Shellfish was restricted to the offshore crabbers who soldiered on through the storms landing decent hauls of brown crab weekly. The market has remained stable with above average prices for the time of year and the Chinese export market continues to flourish.
Non-fishing was restricted to the fishfarm tug Nitrox day running to Annat Bay. The bulk carrier Burhou came in carrying 800 tonnes of road salt for Highland Council. The Burhou is no stranger to Ullapool as she has delivered salt, collected timber, aggregate and assisted in the construction of the recent ferry pier extension. The ship, which is named after a small Channel Island, was built in 1978 for the Alderney Shipping Company to run goods from Pool to the Channel Islands. In recent years she has been operated by Fort William-based Great Glen Shipping – running timber, coal, salt and aggregate around the UK. It’s hard to imagine any significant requirement for road salt this year with a morning temperature of 12 degrees today.