Harbour News 1–31 January 2022

32 arrivals for the period

Whitefish totalled 7150 boxes from six Scottish trawl and seven Anglo longline vessels. The Scottish fleet has been working along the shelf edge north west of the Butt of Lewis targeting monkfish, squid and mixed groundfish. The majority of Scottish vessels have been landing in Scrabster with only a handful heading for Ullapool.  The Anglo fleet likewise is targeting similar grounds but fishing a bit deeper for mainly ling and hake; some are choosing to land here but the majority are heading for Scrabster.

Shellfish landings were limited to five visiting prawn trawlers combined with the efforts of the local inshore fleet.

Non-fishing activity was busy once again; fish farm support vessels predominantly made up the numbers. The treatment tank ships Bakkanes, Aqua Skye and Ronjfisk made multiple visits for crew changes, fuel and occasional shelter. The harvesting vessel Aqua Star made five visits to land farmed salmon and the Martine P and Laura M multicats were day-running to the three Wester Ross Fisheries sites. The MCA-chartered ETV Ievoli Black called in for a deep clean and crew change and last but not least our shipwrecked Russian sailor Roman Titov blew in from Rockall. To sail/drift from Rockall in a 33ft mast-less yacht to Ullapool in January with a few damp charts and an aged sextant is the stuff of legends. I’m very pleased to report that Roman made it safely home to his family in Moscow. Many thanks to everyone who pitched in and looked after our visitor; he was very touched by your care and compassion.

Shore Street Project Update

Competitive tenders have been received for the project and are currently being scrutinised by the harbour’s consultation engineers Wallace Stone. The Marine License is still missing in action although Marine Scotland has finally promised that it should be issued this week! In readiness for the works the inner harbour foreshore will have to be cleared of abandoned vessels (see picture). If you own one of these vessels please get in touch with the harbour office to discuss how we can be of assistance in recovering, disposing or relocating. The plan is to have the area voluntarily cleared by the end of March 2022. Beyond that date vessels will be disposed of by Ullapool Harbour Trust. Contact info@ullapool-harbour.co.uk 01854 612724