124 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 13,800 boxes from thirteen Scottish trawl landings. The seasonal Rockall haddock fishery has thus far been disappointing and skippers report an overwhelming abundance of small juvenile haddock on all grounds. The fleet has moved its attention to the shelf edge where monkfish and megrim catches have been very good; moreover, less fuel is burned on the trip so it’s proving a far more attractive proposition at present.
Shellfish activity has been very busy once again; sixty-nine landings from visiting vessels combined with the efforts of the resident fleet. May is usually a poor month for prawn fishing in the Minches and we expect to see the vessels return east fairly soon.
In non-fishing action, thirty-five aquaculture vessels came in, the MCA tug Ievoli Black called by for a crew change, the dive charter vessel Clasina was day-running, Alba na Mara research vessel came in for gear, cruise liner Viking Neptune called for a scheduled visit in the sunshine and tall ship Flying Dutchman (pictured) visited for a passenger changeover. Built in 1903 as the herring drifter KW33 the ship was firstly restored as an employment creation project and more recently converted to a luxury schooner by private owners in 2003. The two-masted schooner arrived together with sixteen guests on Thursday having completed a trip from Oban to St Kilda. This summer they plan various exciting voyages including Orkney, Shetland and Faroe; please check out their website for further information. https://www.scotland-sailing.com/
Sunday 17 May sees the last Real to Reel film of the season in the ferry terminal. It also marks the final film under the charge of Terry Rose and Tim Gauntlett. When Terry and Tim approached the harbour with their proposals for a film club, the ferry terminal seemed a perfect fit as a venue and the Trust was more than happy to support their efforts. Real to Reel has proven to be a great success and audiences have remained loyal over the past seven years. We thank both of them for their dedication and wish the takeover team every success as they build on this superb local offer.