Post-Covid bounce for fish landings in the islands

They have been welcomed as an indication that the islands industry has recovered well from the impact of both Brexit and Covid. Shellfish accounted for almost 90 per cent of the overall catch.

The statistics published by Marine Scotland show that the value of fish landings in Stornoway district – which covers the whole of the Outer Isles – rose to £12.2 million, and the tonnage increased by 13 per cent compared to the previous year, to 2,880 tonnes.

Economist Tony Mackay, in a commentary on the figures, said: “In Scotland as a whole the value of landings in 2021 was up 8.4 per cent but the tonnage down 1.5 per cent. Both the Stornoway value and tonnage rises were therefore much better than the national averages”

Mr Mackay said: “The detailed Marine Scotland statistics show very unusual fluctuations in landings in recent years and the latest total for the Stornoway district is only 76 per cent of the 2019 peak. The main reasons for these changes were huge variations in the landings of ‘other demersal’ species. There have also been large fluctuations in the values of edible crab landings”.

The statistics give detailed breakdowns of the species landed. They show that in terms of value, shellfish accounted for 89 per cent of the total and white fish/demersal 11 per cent. The most valuable species landed were nephrops (46 per cent of the total) and lobsters (19 per cent).

The Marine Scotland report shows that there were 215 registered fishing vessels in the Stornoway district at 31 December 2021, which was ten per cent of the Scottish total of 2088. There were 290 fishers, who were seven per cent of the national total.

Mr Mackay commented: “Those percentages are much higher than those for the weight and value of landings, so the average catch per Stornoway fisher was well below the national average. However, 2021 was obviously an excellent year for the local fishing industry, particularly after the bad 2020.”

Duncan Macinnes, secretary of the Western Isles Fishermen’s Association, said the figures were “an accurate reflection of landings into the Outer Hebrides”.

Mr Macinnes, who is also deputy leader of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said: “The fleet had a good year in 2021, recovering from Brexit and Covid, with increased volumes and value in nephrops clearly demonstrating the significance of that species to the local economy.

“Brown crab landings continue to be concerning with landings down by 50 per cent since 2019 which clearly demonstrates the need for urgent management measures after years of uncontrolled effort by large nomadic vivier crabbers that have decimated the grounds.

“We hope that the lessons learned from the two year inshore pot limitation pilot can now be carefully analysed and similar effort management can be extended to other areas”.