Fish landings' statistics reveal Covid impact on Ross-shire port
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COVID dealt a worse blow to fish landings at Ullapool during 2020 compared with other ports a report has revealed.
The value of fish landings at the Wester Ross port fell by 36 per cent to £17.8 million last year while the tonnage fell by 21 per cent to 9912.
In Scotland as a whole, the value of landings in 2020 was down 23 per cent and the tonnage down four per cent.
Marine Scotland’s annual report on Scottish Fisheries Statistics 2020 gives detailed statistics on the landings of fish in every port in the country. The Ullapool value was 4.4 per cent of the Scottish total and the tonnage 3.5 per cent.
The annual report states that: “The 21 per cent decrease in the real terms value of landings by Scottish vessels to £488 million, between 2019 and 2020, was driven by a decrease in the value of shellfish and demersal (bottom feeding) species. The real terms value of shellfish landings decreased by 42 per cent and demersal landings decreased by 26 per cent compared to 2019, whereas pelagic (herring and mackerel) landings increased by six per cent.”
The report also states that “The lockdowns and restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted many fishing vessels’ ability to land and sell fish during these months.
“Similar, but smaller decreases in value can be seen during the months October to December when further restrictions and a second lockdown were introduced.”
Inverness-based economist Tony Mackay has analysed the statistics and said: “The lockdowns and restrictions are obviously the main reasons for the falls at Ullapool.
“The local port has very few pelagic fish landings (mackerel and herring) so that explains most of the differences with the Scottish totals last year.
“In terms of tonnage, demersal (white fish) accounted for 90 per cent of the Ullapool total and shellfish 10 per cent.
“The biggest white fish landings were haddock, monkfish and hake. The biggest shellfish landings were nephrops such as langoustine.
“In terms of value, demersal fish accounted for 79 per cent of the total and shellfish 21 per cent.
“The Marine Scotland report shows that there were 112 registered fishing vessels at Ullapool at December 2020, which was five per cent of the Scottish total of 2088.
“There were 186 fishers, which were four per cent of the national total.
“Nevertheless, 2020 was obviously a very disappointing year for the local fishing industry because of the Covid lockdowns and restrictions.”
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