Tag Archives: Scotland
Scottish fishermen fear new EU trade agreement could have a catch
It’s 9am in Peterhead, and most business has already been done for the day. Boxes of fish have been unloaded and sold at the largest white fish market in Europe, and the boats don’t hang around. They’re refueled, the hold is refilled with ice, and then they’re off. So, I needed to walk at a brisk pace to speak to skippers before they headed back to sea. On Monday, a summit between the UK and the EU is taking place in London, and fishing rights are on the agenda. Both sides have abided by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement since Brexit five years ago. more >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:40
Peterhead trawlerman Jimmy Buchan on bringing hunter’s instinct to business
Jimmy Buchan became a household name in the mid-2000s as one of the stars of Trawlermen, the hard-hitting BBC documentary that offered a rare glimpse into life aboard the North Sea’s fishing fleet. As viewers watched him battle fierce storms in search of the perfect catch, Jimmy became, for many, the face of Scottish fishing, much loved for his grit and good humour. But long before the cameras rolled, and long after they stopped, Jimmy was a mainstay of Peterhead: the skipper of his own trawler, a familiar figure in Europe’s largest whitefish port, and a lifelong advocate of the industry he entered at just 14 years old. Today, at 64, he’s still immersed in the trade, though no longer at sea. Jimmy now runs Amity Fish Company, a quayside business supplying premium Scottish seafood to customers across the UK and internationally. It’s a different kind of challenge, he admits, but for a man who spent his life chasing the next catch, the competitive instinct remains sharp. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:46
Skilled labour crisis hits Pembrokeshire’s fishing fleet, warns new national report
Pembrokeshire’s fishing industry is facing a critical shortage of skilled labour, with local skippers among the most concerned in the UK over their ability to crew boats, a national report has revealed. The 2024 Employment in the UK Fishing Fleet report, published today (May 15) by Seafish, shows that not a single Welsh skipper rated access to skilled crew as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. In contrast, nearly all described it as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. This bleak outlook is far worse than in other parts of the UK. In England, 11% of vessel owners reported a positive view on crew access, while in Scotland the figure was 7%. Only Northern Ireland fared worse overall,,, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:12
AWARDS 2024 | Best Prawn Trawler – Forever Faithful – Macduff Ship Design & Macduff Shipyards
Having followed the design and construction of Scottish fishing boats for the past half century, it has been interesting and impressive to follow their evolution and refinement. The ancestry and DNA of Forever Faithful is obvious and has led to this latest iteration of a chunky, solid, seaworthy and effective trawler to work the wild waters to the north of Scotland. “It was designed in collaboration with Macduff Shipyards, with the Wolfson Unit in Southampton being commissioned to run a case study of two hull forms utilising CFD technology,” Ian Ellis, Managing Director of Macduff Ship Design, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:42
Lost fishermen remembered at UK services
Fishermen who lost their lives at sea are being remembered at special services around the UK. National Fishing Remembrance Day was created in 2024 by maritime organisations including the Hampshire-based Fishermen’s Mission. The charity said Sunday’s services – including Brixham, Kilkeel and Peterhead which have been designated as national services for England, Northern Ireland and Scotland – were a reminder that fishing remained one of the most dangerous peacetime occupations. A total of 26 deaths involving fishing vessels were recorded in the five years from 2019 to 2023, according to the Marine Accident Investigation Board. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:50
Fishermen v Big Wind: A David and Goliath story
Commercial fishing is a tiny contributor to the UK economy. In 2023, UK vessels landed approximately 719,000 tonnes of sea fish with a value of £1.1 billion. It amounts to around 0.03% of total economic output and around 5% of the broader agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. Compare this with UK offshore wind, with its 15 GW of installed capacity and current GVA per GW installed of around £1.8 billion and rising. David is small, semi-nomadic and works across a vast sea area; Goliath is massive and growing rapidly. Whilst Big Wind occupies clearly defined areas, it overlaps massively into traditional fishing grounds and is becoming a major UK employer. The fishing industry eventually learned to live with Big Oil, which is now on the wane, but living with territory-guzzling offshore wind farms – fixed and floating – may prove a lot more challenging. Fishing feels threatened. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:45
Fishing representatives brand fish-for-arms EU deal ‘absolutely ludicrous’
Fishing representatives have reacted with alarm to unconfirmed reports that the UK government is wagering access to British waters for an arms deal with the EU. After months of unease, reports first emerged over the weekend that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was closing in on access to a €150 billion EU defence fund — in return, at least in part, for a more generous, multi-year access arrangement for European fishermen. “If true, it is ludicrous that the UK government has caved in to French demands,” said Elspeth MacDonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishing Federation. “Absolutely ludicrous indeed,” said the Shetland Fishermen’s Association. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:44
Macduff delivers North Sea twin-rigger
F/V Gracious has been built under cover from start to completion in the fabrication hall at the yard’s Macduff location. The steel hull and the aluminium wheelhouse and mast were all cut by Macduff Profilers using CNC plasma and gas cutting machines, working with a sa steel kit supplied by Macduff Ship Design. The main engine is a Caterpillar C32 rated 559kW. This is coupled to a Masson Marine W7400 gearbox, with a large reduction ratio of 9.077:1, driving a 2500mm diameter propeller, fitted within a high thrust nozzle. This is a tried and tested propulsion layout and Graciousis the eleventh newbuild fishing vessel delivered by Macduff with this propulsion package. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:53
COMMENT: Dismiss the ‘let’s ban it’ mindset
Sadly, we live in censorious times, when tolerance for differing viewpoints, activities, words even, is sometimes non-existent. You can be ostracized, cancelled, or subject to a raid by several police officers at the crack of dawn, depending on what you’ve done or said. Now I’m not suggesting for a moment that the Scottish government ever thought of an early-morning swoop by Scotland’s finest on the offices of Shetland Fishermen’s Association. But the recent revelation that, prior to a meeting with us and our members, First Minister John Swinney was told by his minders to avoid using the phrase “spatial squeeze” demonstrates that the “let’s ban it” mindset swirls around the corridors of St Andrew’s House like a miasma on a cold, still Edinburgh night. Do they compare notes with the anti-fishing environmental lobbyists? By Daniel Lawson. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:01
Fuming fishermen hit out at John Swinney’s ‘disrespect’ as calls grow for urgent Holyrood debate
The SNP Government has been urged to hold its first fishing debate in almost three years before Easter amid fears over offshore wind developments. It comes after John Swinney was advised by officials not to use the term ‘spatial squeeze’ during talks with fishing industry leaders in Shetland last year. The term was first put forward by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) to describe the loss of fishing ground to other uses such as offshore wind farms and marine protected areas. Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the SFF, said: “It’s disgraceful, when it plans systematically and permanently to exclude fishermen from traditional fishing grounds to build colossal offshore wind farms, that a Scottish Government official briefed the First Minister not to recognise their deeply held concerns for their future livelihoods. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:49
Scottish fishing industry backing by PM welcomed by north-east MP Seamus Logan
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan
A north-east MP has secured a firm commitment from the Prime Minister to support the Scottish fisheries sector. In a question to Keir Starmer MP at Prime Minister’s Questions, Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan raised the vital contribution of the Scottish fishing industry in terms of volume and value to the UK. Mr. Logan highlighted the importance of protecting its interests and future as the UK government pursue economic growth and a reset in relations with the European Union to which the Prime Minister responded positively in agreement. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:53
Classic boat review: Atlas CN 258
When John Watt took over premises in Macduff and changed the firm’s name to Macduff Boatbuilding and Engineering Company in 1966 to enable 80ft vessels to be built, he probably didn’t realise that smaller boats were, for some years, going to be his bread and butter. One of these was the Atlas, built for William (Billy) West and partners of Macduff in 1973. This was to be a replacement for Ocean Crest BF 116, which they then sold after the new boat was launched. First registered as BF 182, her original engine was a Caterpillar 240hp. At just under 50ft registered length, she stayed within the 25GRT regulations. She paired-trawled with the red- painted Helenus UL 33 for many years. Sometime in the 1980s they replaced the whaleback with a full shelterdeck, covering her in entirely. Excellent photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:41
MAIB: Open Drain Caused Deadly Capsizing in North Sea
MAIB has published its final accident investigation report into the capsizing and foundering of stern trawler Njord, which went down about 50 nautical miles north-east of Peterhead, Scotland in 2022. MAIB found that post-construction modifications had reduced the vessel’s initial stability, and that a large haul of fish was enough to capsize the vessel. Njord was a 1992-built trawler with a setup not commonly found in high-seas fisheries. Her net reels were at the stern, but recovery of the catch occurred on the starboard bow. The cod end had to be hauled up over the starboard rail using a winch and lifting frame, and then the fish were fed into a hatch in the foredeck for processing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:08
Deckhand killed in fishing boat disaster was not wearing lifejacket
A Scots deckhand who drowned and seven other crew who were rescued after a fishing boat capsized off the coast of Norway were not wearing lifejackets an investigation has found. Ronald Mackinnon, 56, from Peterhead, lost his life when the UK-registered Njord trawler got into difficulty west of Stavanger in March 2022. A probe by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has now found that none of the eight crew ‘were able to don personal flotation devices or lifejackets’ after the boat suffered a ‘substantial list’ and started taking on water. The report states that the crew had been taking on an ‘unusually large haul of fish’ when the tragedy happened. Photos, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:22
Safety flyer to the fishing industry – The capsize and foundering of the fishing vessel Njord (SH 90)
On 6 March 2022, the 26.56m stern trawler Njord (SH 90) capsized and foundered 150 miles north-east of Peterhead, Scotland while processing a very large haul of fish. The MAIB investigation found that the weight of catch, which was secured to the starboard trawl winch and acting on a handrail high up on the vessel’s starboard side, caused it to list to starboard to an angle where downflooding occurred. A drain valve had been left open in the starboard weathertight bulkhead on the vessel’s working deck, which allowed downflooding into Njord’s internal spaces. The starboard list subsequently increased further, resulting in the capsize of the vessel. Njord’s eight crew abandoned to the vessel’s upturned hull, but none were wearing either a personal flotation device, an immersion suit or carrying a means to raise an alert. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:19
Teenage girl who won fisherman of the year hopes to inspire young women to work at sea
A teenage girl who won trainee fisherman of the year hopes to inspire more young women to work in the Scottish fishing industry. Isla Gale quit school at 15 to work as an apprentice on a scallop fishing boat. Now 19, she has completed deck officer qualifications in the hopes of following her dreams to work on larger fishing vessels at sea. The plucky teen is currently based in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire while studying at the Scottish Marine Academy (SMA). She hopes to see more women making waves in a male-dominated industry. She said: “I know that there are many supposed barriers and superstitions about women working at sea, but if you are determined and hardworking enough to overcome that side of things, you’ll do really well. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<12:50
Scottish fishermen netting benefits of leaving CFP, says north MSP
Fishermen continue to net the benefits of being out of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) after seeing sales incomes rise by 10 per cent over the last year, an MSP has claimed. New figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives in a written parliamentary answer show fleets made an average monthly income of £14,329 over the last recorded year, a rise of £1300 when earnings were £13,020 in 2022.The rise in income and sales contrasts with the number of fishers at sea, which has dropped from 4241 to 3793 over the last three years. It comes after Peterhead Port Authority (PPA) recorded its highest ever annual fish landings total last year. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:27
50 years plus boat history: Islander BA 316
Launched by Alexander Noble and Sons of Girvan as yard number 58, Islesman SY 433 was built as a trawler with a Kelvin T6 180hp for Alexander McLean of Ness on the Isle of Lewis. She was financed through the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB) grant scheme and was also used for training up crews for other new builds at the time. There had been another Islesman in Stornoway, registered SY 248, which had been built by Jones of Buckie as MFV 
324 in 1945. This was converted for fishing in 1949 as Craigewan PD 416, and subsequently sold to Stornoway in 1961, when she was renamed Islesman. This was the first HIDB training boat in Lewis, skippered, I believe, by Jimmy Chisholm. That vessel was sold to Northern Ireland in 1964 and re-registered N 246. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:31
Memorial to be unveiled in Kirkcudbright to mark 40th anniversary of fishing boat tragedy
A memorial will be unveiled in Kirkcudbright next month to mark the 40th anniversary of a fishing boat tragedy. The trawler Mhari-L sank in the Irish Sea on February 20, 1985. All five men on board – William Maxwell, Stuart and Keith Campbell, George McKend and Mark Amos – lost their lives. Mark’s daughter, Donna McKnight, has been working with other family members on a ceremony and the unveiling of a memorial in Kirkcudbright next month. “I contacted someone from each of the other families and asked if they minded if I organised this and a ceremony for the anniversary and they were fine with that. The ceremony will take place at Kirkcudbright Harbour Square at 2pm on Saturday, February 22 and everyone is welcome to attend. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:30
UHI Shetland pays tribute to ‘greatly missed’ Ian Napier
Dr Napier, who worked as a senior fisheries policy advisor, was found in the water at Scousburgh on Saturday morning after being reported missing. UHI Shetland said its staff were “devastated” by the loss of their colleague. It said Dr Napier was a “well-respected scientist in his field”, as well as a “valued member of the marine science team”. Shetland Fishermen’s Association chairman James Anderson also paid tribute to Dr Napier, calling him a stalwart supporter of the local fishing industry. “Ian was passionate in his support of fishing, and literally wrote the book on Shetland’s fishing history,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:59
Offshore Wind is no breeze
This may just be a tad too radical for some, but I believe there’s a chance the great offshore wind boom is in serious danger of coming to a screaming halt and for the consumer, this may not be a bad thing. In fact, the more I think about it the more I believe that it may be a very good thing. Why? Well, let’s do the easy bit first. For Scotland, the industrial benefit of offshore wind is extremely limited and if the offshore wind industry disappeared overnight, it wouldn’t be as huge a loss to us as it would to countries such as Denmark, Germany and of course, China. You can argue about that amongst yourselves but anyway what’s much more likely to put the brakes on offshore wind is that the cost of offshore wind projects has increased dramatically and it’s increasingly difficult to see how to make money out of it without huge government guarantees and yet the minimum strike price being offered by governments under contracts for difference deals hasn’t been high enough to deal with that. It’s the reason the Danish Energy Agency didn’t receive a single bid for any of the three offshore wind farms last month. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25 By Dick Winchester
‘Hollow words won’t protect Scottish fishing, industry chief warns
Offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the prime minister’s ambitions to “reset” relations between the UK and European Union are major dangers for the sector, they say. And they want politicians in Edinburgh, London and further afield to “radically rethink” their approach to the sector. Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) chief executive Elspeth Macdonald outlined these concerns in her new year message to ministers and civil servants “across the UK and beyond”. She said a widespread sense of crisis had spawned a bout of “initiative-itis” by the Scottish and UK governments. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:49
50 years plus: Zephyr PL 6
Janbill was built at Miller’s yard in Sto Monans as a copy of the 56ft Jeniska, although she was two frames shorter, at about 51ft. She was built alongside True Vine KY 7, which had an almost identical hull – although Janbill had a forward wheelhouse for stern trawling and True Vine didn’t. Both were launched on the same day – 29 March, 1974. Janbill was built for Eyemouth skipper Willie Dickson, the name coming from his and his wife’s names. She was fitted with a Mastra winch, a Carron power block and a Volvo Penta 290hp engine. She started work fishing the North Sea for whitefish, registered as LH 103. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
Fisherman tells of the moment his crew hauled in the wreckage of a missing German plane in their NET off the coast of Scotland
A fisherman has revealed the shocking moment he and his crew discovered the wreckage of a missing German plane more than 12 months after it disappeared. Benarkle II skipper, Mark Addison, hauled in a section of the Cessna 172’s fuselage while fishing on Friday and brought it to the Greenhead Base in Lerwick. The four-seater aircraft went missing after taking off from near Hamburg, Germany, with only the 62-year-old pilot on board on September 30, 2023. Mark and his seven crewmates were out on the seas 70 miles east of Scotland when they stumbled across the pieces of plane. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:44
Human remains found inside small plane pulled from the sea off the coast of Scotland
Human remains have been recovered from the wreckage of a missing German plane which crashed into the North Sea more than a year ago. The light aircraft was found in the water north-east of Lerwick, Shetland, on Friday and was brought to shore by a fishing boat on Sunday. Police Scotland have confirmed that human remains were found inside the plane. A trawler from Peterhead called the Benarkle II had hauled in a section of the plane’s fuselage while fishing on Friday and brought it to the Greenhead Base in Lerwick. Police met the trawler at the port and the plane’s wreckage was then loaded onto a truck and it has been taken for further examination. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:09
Fishing industry challenges from windfarms
Fishing in Dumfries and Galloway faces challenges because offshore windfarms are risking “squeezing out” the sector, according to the region’s MP. Dumfries and Galloway MP John Cooper raised the issue in Westminster last week, highlighting how floating offshore wind is just one of the sectors affecting the fishing industry. This is because you cannot fish between offshore turbines, and their seabed infrastructure is another impediment. During a Westminster Hall debate on fishing, he praised the vital contribution of fishing – mainly centred largely on scallops, lobster and crab worth millions – to coastal communities across Dumfries and Galloway. He said: “Fisherman are criticised as voracious plunderers – when really they are cautious custodians of the sea. “It took sterling work from my colleague Finlay Carson MSP to stave off the threat of the loss of livelihood for static gear fishermen along the Solway Coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:45
Carmichael leads backbench fisheries debate
Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has called for he termed “the modern gangsters of the sea” to be tackled more effectively by the UK’s marine enforcement agencies. His comments came after a German registered/Spanish owned gill netter, well known to local fishermen, were handed heavy fines by an Irish court for breaching fisheries legislation. The Orkney and Shetland MP led a three hour fisheries debate in parliament on Friday, which raised a wide range of issues important to the sector. Carmichael described the F/V Pesorsa Dos and [French long liner] F/V Antonio Maria as “notorious examples” engaged in dangerous behaviour towards local fishing vessels in the waters around Shetland in recent years. However, efforts by the local industry and the Northern Isles MP to get Marine Scotland, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as well as the UK Government to act were largely unsuccessful. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:51
Trawlerman Jimmy Buchan: I earned £12 fishing 6 days a week at 14
Jimmy Buchan appeared in the Bafta-winning BBC series Trawlermen (2006-10) and published his memoir, Trawlerman: Life at the Helm of the Toughest Job in Britain, in 2011. The former skipper of Amity II has 40 years’ experience of North Sea fishing and has been running his own seafood supply company, Amity Fish, since 2019. Now 64, he is the chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association and still lives in his home town of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, with his wife, Irene. They have two grown-up daughters, Jenna and Amy. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29
Launched as Sweet Promise A 746 in 1965, this Noble’s-built stalwart, Tern LH 53, has clocked up almost 60 years’ service
The 33ft Tern, which today is based at Port Seton, was built in 1965 by Jimmy Noble as Sweet Promise A 746 for Robbie Cormack and Ian Balgowan of Stonehaven, at a cost of £6,000. At the time she was unique, said Ian, as she had a wheelhouse amidships with a winch behind. According to the Noble build lists, she was built for ‘Mr Cormack’ – but she was originally registered to Ian. Gordon told me he imagined she had been built for the boatbuilder’s son, as ‘she was built like a brick shithouse, larch on oak’. The frames were so close together, he said, that back aft on the return you could not see the planks. Gordon continued: “She was tough as they come, so I rigged her for scallops with three dredges each side and worked mainly in Falmouth Bay, away from the Looe fleet, close inshore. Best catch was just over 800 dozen for a trip. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:44
Classic fishing boat: Bonnie Lass III RY 189
The Gerrard brothers were David and Andrew, who along with their father, also Andrew, had set up their boatbuilding business alongside the lifeboat station in Arbroath in the early 1950s. Their first build was the Bairn’s Pride AH 27, launched in 1955. They built at least 72 vessels up to 1990, after which they had to rely on repairs and overhauls to sustain the business. It went into receivership in 1994, largely due to the decline in the fishing fleet in the town, meaning that even maintenance work had dried up. Strathgarry SY 88 was painted green and was renowned for having a steep deck, with the distinctive Gerrard’s bow. The Caterpillar 250hp engine was forward at launch, though was moved aft later. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:12
