Fish landing statistics reveal ‘excellent’ figures for North-west Sutherland harbour
The release of “excellent” fish landing statistics in north-west Sutherland could mean that fishing boats are preferring to land further north, a Highland economist has suggested.
Figures from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) revealed a “disappointing” result for Scottish ports and harbours over the past year, but Kinlochbervie has been bucking the trend — with a 29 per cent rise in value and a 39 per cent increase in tonnage in the past six months.
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Fish landing figures at Sutherland ports 'depressing'
The report notes that Scotland has seen a drop of 18 per cent in the value of fish landings since June last year, to just over £32 million, compared with £39.3 million the previous year.
An 18 per cent fall in tonnage has also seen weight drop to 13,964 tonnes.
But three ports have seen increases in value so far in 2024 — Kinlochbervie (+29 per cent), Peterhead (+21 per cent) and Lerwick (+14 per cent).
The others have had declines, the worst being nearby Ullapool (-38 per cent), Cullivoe (- 25 per cent) and Scrabster (-21 per cent).
Peterhead remains the busiest fishing port in the UK, accounting for a massive 30 per cent of the overall Scottish value and 17 per cent of the total UK value in June.
The tonnage shares were 43 per cent of the Scottish total and 27 per cent of the UK.
Highland economist Tony Mackay said: “The June statistics for Scotland as a whole are very disappointing. Three of the ports or harbours reported increases in the value of landings but the rest had declines.
“Totals for the first six months of 2024 are much better, with just a 0.3 per cent fall in the value of landings and a 2.2 per cent rise in tonnage, compared with the same period of 2023.
“However, the Kinlochbervie statistics are excellent and very much better than the Scottish averages.
“In contrast, Ullapool is having a very bad 2024. Are fishing boats preferring to land in Kinlochbervie rather than Ullapool now?”
