138 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 9,800 boxes from eight Scottish trawl, two Anglo long-line and three freezer netter landings. The Scottish lads are working along the shelf edge west of the Butt of Lewis targeting monkfish with a decent bycatch of quality groundfish. The Anglo liners likewise are working along the shelf targeting hake and the netters are work further offshore in much deeper water mainly catching monkfish. With uncertainty over 2026 quota allowances, further proposed MPAs and much of the traditional North Sea fishing grounds displaced to offshore wind development, the future of the Scottish whitefish trawl sector looks very bleak indeed.
Shellfish activity was once again pretty busy. There were eighty-three prawn landings from visiting vessels combining with the local fleet’s efforts. In recent weeks the harbour has been almost overwhelmed by a fleet of prawn trawlers looking for shelter from the gales.
Non-fishing saw thirty-five aquaculture vessels call in for crew changes, fuel, equipment and shelter. Additionally there were visits from a couple of tugs working in Loch Ewe, Ievoli Black called in for a crew change and FRV Scotia visited to collect equipment and personnel.
2025 Summary
Anglo-Spanish 27 Landings Most Frequent Vessel Brisca 6 Landings
Scottish Whitefish 127 Landings Most Frequent Vessel Adventurer 28 Landings
Prawn Trawl 454 Landings Most Frequent Vessel Minerva 40 Landings
Aquaculture 265 Arrivals Most Frequent Visitor Arthur Douglas 44 Calls
Cruise Ships 41 Arrivals Biggest ship Bolette 1,350 Passengers
Whitefish was well up on 2024 with an increase in vessel landings resulting in an overall market value increase of 17% to £22M – a bumper year. The spring and summer Rockall haddock fishery was the mainstay of the Scottish landings and combined with a good showing of monkfish and ground-fish over the winter months. The Anglo fleet has tended to fish further north in recent years predominantly landing into Lerwick and Scrabster. In recent weeks a number of freezer vessels have used Ullapool, and given the quality of their catch this has been a very welcome financial boost. Prawn landings jumped in 2024 and the trend has continued for 2025 with a thriving fleet of small vessels landing weekly. Aquaculture vessels continue to visit almost daily with a diverse range of craft day-running, crew changing and fuelling up. The latest addition to the fleet Inter Alba (pictured) has recently been launched in Turkey and at 95m will be the biggest live fish carrier working in Scotland. The good news is they plan Ullapool as their home port. The cruise season was bolstered by long spells of calm dry weather with forty-one vessel arrivals carrying 31,000 passengers and 17,000 crew. As in previous years local businesses reported record takings at the tills on cruise days. Next year there are forty-three ships in the diary bringing 47,000 passengers and crew to the village. The new pontoons have been a great success with a mixture of local and visiting vessels enjoying the luxury of an alongside berth combined with the leisure laundry and shower rooms which opened in May 2025.
Special Events and Visitors
The magnificent paddle steamer Waverley made her second call on a glorious May day recording 1,110 passenger journeys. Once again it was wonderful to see crowds turning out to greet the arrival and participate in the special Isle Martin return voyage. Waverley will skip 2026 and try out some new destinations before returning in subsequent years. Following the success of Lugger Fest 2024 the biannual event returns from 22-24 May 26 with loads of activities planned and visiting vessels in the diary.
Community Benefit
The Ullapool Harbour Constitution 2011 allows for the provision of 2% gross profit from the previous year to be distributed to local groups, individuals, and initiatives by way of grant funding. This year £28,400 has been donated to Isle Martin Trust, An Talla Solais, Blue Alliance, CALL, Golf Club, Julia Barton, Youth Shinty, Ullapool High School (4 contributions), Community Defibrillators, Museum, Andy Mitchell Songbook, Ullapool Primary School, Save Our Seniors, British Legion OAP festive dinner and the Church of Scotland.
Harbour Projects
Early in the New Year work will commence along West Shore Street to repair the kerbs, improve drainage, resurface a section of carriageway and install a cantilevered boardwalk along the first 40 metres. The fully accessible boardwalk will provide a safe spacious place for folk to stand and watch the boats coming and going. Following its completion a new stone fire escape will be installed at the back of the harbour building to replace the present unsightly steel structure. Finally following a positive outcome from the ground investigation survey, plans for the Caley building refurbishment are on the drawing board. Full details will be shared with the community once we have engaged with the authorities.
The harbour calendar is for sale in Lochbroom Hardware, Artworks and Lochbroom Filling Station – we are very grateful to these businesses for continuing to support our annual sales efforts. It’s also available online via the harbour website – www.ullapool-harbour.co.uk. It’s a great record of what’s happened harbour-side throughout the year and contains some fantastic local images curtesy of a group of extremely talented local photographers. We continue to plough all profits from sales into sail training opportunities for local schoolchildren. Many thanks to those of you who have already made a purchase.
The community has sadly lost a number of good people over the year and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the dear departed.
On behalf of Ullapool Harbour Trustees and staff I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers, tenants and stakeholders a very Merry Christmas, and our very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2026.
KP