69 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 30,050 boxes from twenty-three Scottish trawl and sixteen Anglo longline landings. Rockall haddock remains the target species for many Scottish trawlers who report that the post-spawning fish are fattening up once again. In the coming weeks many of the Scottish boats will head back east for their summer maintenance and holidays. The remaining trawlers have been concentrating on the deepwater shelf edge targeting Blue Ling, Hake, Greater Forkbeard and Redfish. The Spanish liners are enjoying good returns, fishing their traditional grounds along the shelf edge for mainly hake and ling.
Shellfish as is always the case in May was very quiet with only three landings from visiting prawn trawlers combined with the ongoing efforts of the resident fleet.
Once again the non-fishing sector consisted predominantly of fishfarm support vessels who called in for fuel and crew changes. In addition, the MCA tug Ievoli Black made her monthly crew change visit and the cruise liners Viking Venus, Viking Neptune and Seabourn Voyager made scheduled visits in reasonable weather.
Shore Street Project Update
The project continues to progress well with all elements starting to take shape. In the coming days the new quayside area at the harbour, the cycle way and the parking strip adjacent to the north pavement will be tarred. In early June the first sections of pontoon will be delivered from Ireland and installed along the quay edges followed by the new access walkway. The end is in sight albeit a bit later than scheduled with a series of unforeseen issues beyond the control of the harbour requiring action before the works can be completed.
Retirement came the way of Kenny (Skene) Mackenzie on Monday 22 May after over 38 years’ service. The Trustees and staff would like to thank Kenny for his efforts and wish him a long and happy retirement with his family.