The harbour has been very quiet with 13 fishing vessel arrivals and no non fishing traffic for the fortnight.
Whitefish landings totaled 2250 boxes of mainly monkfish from 2 Scottish and 2 Spanish vessels.With the 2009 quote allocations all but exhausted the Scottish fleet is struggling to find fishing opportunities for the remainder of the year.Not so the Spanish fleet who seem to have an endless supply of monks, hake and ling to land.
The harbour rolled back the years this week with the first (admittedly very small, 50 tonne) landing of mackerel from the Irish pair team Guiding Star and Amadeus.Mackerel was once the mainstay of Ullapool harbour, unfortunately landings all but ceased in the mid 1980’s with the larger generation of super trawlers preferring to land straight to dedicated factories in Scotland and Norway.This winter fishery is now in full swing with the international fleet targeting migrating shoals as they swim into the SW to spawn.Landings of up to 1300 tonnes per vessel have been made with fish making as much as £1200 per tonne in Norway.
The shellfish fleet has seen an improvement in all sectors with prawns finally starting to appear on the grounds after an absence of some 16 weeks.Both the creelers and trawlers are back at sea with catches and prices improving; let’s hope for a prolonged spell of frosty settled weather which should bring on the fishing.The scallop dredgers Georgia Dawn and Rois Mhairi landed 277 bags from local waters and the crabbers Heather K and Ainmire landed a total of 34 tonnes for the fortnight.
Congratulations to all those who contributed in making Ullapool bonfire night such a roaring success, on a beautiful starry evening the fire and fireworks looked spectacular and the homemade soup was delicious!
Aged 15-25 years by July 2011, interested in a life changing challenge crewing aboard a Tall Ship sailing the west coast of Scotland, contact the harbour office or check out the sail training website. www.sailtraininginternational.org
No sailing experience is required just an enthusiasm for fun and adventure.
This year the harbour is running a Christmas Card Competition, we are looking for either an original festive/nautical design or a seasonal photograph (preferably nautical) to adorn the front of the harbour Christmas Card.The winning entry will receive a £50 voucher with a £25 voucher for the runner up.Please include your name, address and phone number, any children entering the competition should include their age. Either hand deliver, post or email your entries to the harbour.
