Tag Archives: Shetland Islands
‘The Bad Day’: Two maritime disasters that shook the Shetland Islands
By a terrible grim coincidence, this week sees the anniversary of two of the worst disasters ever to happen in the Scottish fishing industry, and on both occasions it was the Shetland Islands which were afflicted by the tragic calamities that took place almost 50 years apart and cost the lives of 163 men. On both occasions, wild storms caught fishermen out at sea and led to the destruction of fishing boats, often with the loss of all on board. The first disaster took place 191 years ago today on July 16, 1832, in the midst of what became a summer of mourning on Scotland’s northern archipelago. >click to read< 09:54
Council to call for ban on gillnetting by larger boats
Shetland Islands Council is to write to the Scottish Government to request a ban on the use of gillnetting by boats over 15 metres in the country’s waters. It comes after a report on the controversial issue was brought to a meeting of the council’s development committee on Tuesday. A protest organised by the Fishing Forward UK group was held in Lerwick last month, and further action is planned in October. The netting issue was brought to the council earlier this year in a motion by local Green councillor Alex Armitage, who has called gillnets “curtains of death”. >click to read< 09:53
