Gavin Morgan

17 July, 2007

SHETLAND'S whitefish industry continues to enjoy a major upswing with the addition of two vessels to the Lerwick registered fleet.

Whalsay skipper Robert Irvine and his partners have now bought the 22.5m local seine netter Radiant Star and renamed it Prevail.

The boat was bought from Burra Isle fisherman Victor Laurenson who is due to take delivery of a new 22.8m seine netter being built in Whitby by Parkol Marine Engineering later this year.

Meanwhile, Peterhead based skipper Angus Cummings has renamed the 22.85m boat he has had for the last 18 months, from the Margaret Jane A907 to the Valiant LK337.

Both boats are wooden hulled trawlers built at Macduff Shipyards with the Margaret Jane being the biggest vessel made there, when she was launched as the Endeavour II BF515, in 1993.

Chief executive of Shetland Fisherman's Association Hansen Black said: "It's excellent news. It shows the great deal of optimism that is in the industry at the moment."

Shetland's whitefish industry experienced a downturn a few years ago with eight boats being decommissioned.

Skippers are now saying there are encouraging signs for the future with the fishing grounds being at their healthiest for nearly 20 years.

Mr Black continued: "Boats are having healthy catches on the grounds and the price on the market has been very good for the last year.

"On the whitefish side, things are greatly improved from what they were just a short few years ago. The sector seems to be going from strength to strength.

"People who moved out of the industry three or four years ago are seeing the green shoots of revival and are coming back into it so its good and long may it continue.

"The only problems the boats are facing at the moment is the ongoing cod recovery plan which has restricted the quotas to too low a level."

Mr Irvine's previous vessel was the 26.7m Cambeltown built trawler the Neptune LK171, which was lost four years ago.