Scottish east coast fishery
This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Scottish east coast fishery has been in existence for more than a thousand years, spanning the Viking Age right up to the present day.
A brief history
The fishery has always been for both
The
The 18th century saw some
The 19th century saw the greatest growth in sea fishing on the Scottish east coast. In the early years of that century the boats were very small, made of wood and were either one or two masted. They were not expensive to build and small repairs were carried out by the fishermen themselves. These early boats needed to be light so they could be dragged up the beaches.
The fishermen did not venture far from the shore, as these boats were undecked and unstable under stormy conditions. In 1848, a violent storm hit the country and 124 boats were sunk, and 100 fishermen lost their lives. The government appointed Captain John Washington to enquire into the disaster and to make recommendations (the Washington Report). He pointed out that the boats were too small and being without decks prone to water inundation. However, not all of the fishermen were happy about larger decked boats. They felt that heavier boats would be harder to row and decks would make it easier for men to be washed overboard. Also beaching the boats would be impossible. But a good many fishermen took a contrary view and felt that the decked boats was a good idea. They realised that the boats could fish further from the shore and would be better in storm conditions. Larger boats could hold more fish and so profits would be greater. The first decked boat was built in
The fishermen, with the support of the curers, invested in larger boats and additional nets. The fleet grew quickly but was still could only fish for herring during the two months when the fish were off the Scottish east coast. By 1880, there were around 7,000 Scottish boats involved in herring fishing so the fishing season needed to be extended. This led to a migration of a sizeable number of boats and curers to the west coast in May and June. By 1880, the numbers of boats fishing the west coast numbered more than 1,000. In the 1860s, Scottish boats were also to be found in East Anglian waters for the Autumn fishing. Initially, Scottish curers were not present in any great numbers in this fishery but by the end of the 19th century large numbers were represented in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. By this time, the Scottish fleet actually outnumbered the local one. The curers soon turned their attention to Shetland for the early summer fishing causing the local Shetland fishermen to adopt the drift net and larger boats. By the early 20th century, more than 1,800 boats fished the Shetland waters.
In 1884 the herring industry faced a crisis. The curers wanted an end to the contract system because they could not balance quantity and costs with market conditions and so wanted a move to an auction process. Fishermen wanted the status quo but reluctantly agreed and from 1887 the herring were auctioned.
The peak of the herring fishery industry and also its main decline came between 1900 and the
Before the First World War,
Fishing boat development
The Norsemen were skilled seamen and boat builders and their boat designs depended on their needs. Trading vessels were wide, to allow large cargo storage, while raiding boats were long and narrow and very fast. They all used the clinker fashion of planking, i.e. the planks overlapped one another. The boats used for fishing were scaled-down versions of their cargo boats. The Scandinavian influence affected boat building long after the Viking period came to an end. Yoles from the Orkney Island of Stroma were built in the same way as the Norse boats. Early Scottish boat builders copied the Scandinavian designs with their clinker planking and characteristic sharp stems and sterns.
The Skaffie
From the beginning of the 19th century a class of boat called the Skaffie appeared. These were favoured mainly in the Moray Firth region. The early skaffie boats were small with rounded stems and raked sterns. They were two-masted with a tall dipping lugsail and a mizzen sail. Their short keel gave them good manoeuvrability in good weather, but they tended to be unstable in bad weather. They were usually crewed by around six people. Above all, though, they were light enough to be hauled up on to the beaches. The boats were un-decked and provided no shelter for the crew. Because of the vulnerability of the boats, they stayed only a few miles out to sea in full view of the land. These boats were gradually built bigger and could be around 42 feet (13 m) long, and partially decked. This came about because the harbours that were constructed from the mid to late19th century meant that the boats no longer needed to be beached. Skaffies were not built in any great numbers after 1900.
The Fifie
The "Fifie" then became the predominant fishing boat on the Scottish east coast. They were used from the 1850s until well into the 20th century. Fifies had a vertical stem and stern with a broad beam, which made them very stable. Their long keel was a disadvantage, especially manoeuvring in confined spaces. These boats were two masted with a main dipping lugsail and a mizzen sail. The masts were set quite far forward and aft to release a good working space. Fifies built from 1860 onwards were all decked, and from the 1870s onwards the bigger boats were built with carvel planking, i.e. the planks were laid edge-to-edge instead of the overlapping clinker style of previous boats. Some boats were now being built up to about 70 feet (21 m) in length and were very fast.
The Zulu
In 1879,
The Zulu boats were built to the carvel method of planking. The shape of the Zulus gave the boats a long deck but a shorter keel, which greatly improved their manoeuvrability. Zulus were two-masted boats and carried three sails – a dipping lug fore, a standing lug mizzen and a jib. The sails were very heavy and difficult to haul, and the masts had to be very long and strong. Masts could be 60 feet (18 m) tall on boats of 80 feet (24 m) in length. Their design produced very fast boats that became invaluable to herring fishing fleets. They got to the fishing grounds quickly and returned swiftly with the catch. Because of these qualities, the Zulus rapidly became very popular along the entire east coast. As the 20th century approached, steam capstans were introduced, and this made the hauling of the sails and nets much easier for the crews. One of the best of those was the capstans patented and built by MacDonald Brothers of Portsoy, in 1908.
The steam boat
The earliest steam powered fishing boats first appeared in the 1890s and used the
Steam fishing boats had many advantages. They were usually about 20 ft longer (6.1 m) than the sailing vessels so they could carry more nets and catch more fish. This was important, as the market was growing quickly at the beginning of the 20th century. They could travel faster and further and with greater freedom from weather, wind and tide. Because less time was spent travelling to and from the fishing grounds, more time could be spent fishing. The steam boats also gained the highest prices for their fish, as they could return quickly to harbour with their fresh catch. The main disadvantage of the steam boats, though, was their high operating costs. Their engines were mechanically inefficient and took up much space, while fuel and fitting out costs were very high. Before the
The seine netter
Petrol and paraffin engines began to be used in 1906. At first, they were mainly fitted to smaller boats of between 18 and 30 feet (5.5 and 9.1 m) in length, and they provided auxiliary power to assist the sails. However, as diesel engines became more powerful, the sails were replaced altogether, and the engines were fitted in larger and larger boats. Motor engines were relatively cheap, making them affordable to individual Fishermen. Early engines cost less than £100, and fuel costs were low. These boats also needed less maintenance than steam vessels. The two most popular engine brands were the Gardiner and Kelvin engines. The compact engines meant they could be fitted to existing sailing drifters such as Fifies and Zulus. The traditional Fifie style was better suited to the installation of a motor, which led to the custom building of a number of modified Fifie design boats with motors.
In 1920, though, the government changed the rules by removing the guaranteed price for the herring and prices dropped dramatically. In 1921, some Lossiemouth skippers noticed that the
The trawler
Today,
Modern fishing methods
Fishing for demersal species (fish occurring near the seabed)
Bottom trawling – single boat
This the commonest of the towed fishing gear; it is also known as "otter
With the decline in the volumes of roundfish, the growth in fishing for high-priced species such as monkfish and flatfish is being seen. In this case, scraper trawls are used. The nets are shaped differently with a lower headline, longer wings allowing a greater area to be swept.
Bottom trawling – two boats
In pair trawling, each boat has a wire fastened to the net. Because of this, otterboards are not required to hold the mouth of the net open, as the boats maintain at their maximum a distance apart of around 0.25 nautical miles (0.46 km). The boats, because they share the load, can be smaller and less powerful yet can tow relatively large gear. These boats can be anything from 15 to 30 metres in length and have a typical combined power of 1,000 horsepower (750 kW). Again, this form of fishing is mainly for demersal species.
Seine netting
Scottish seining, sometimes called fly dragging, has the net attached to two long ropes usually made of leaded polypropylene and around 3 km in length. The net is deployed in a triangular fashion with the first rope attached to a marker buoy, the dhan, to which the boat returns to complete the set. Both ropes are then winched in as the boat steams ahead slowly. Winch speed is gradually increased as the net gets closer to keep the net moving forward and also to herd the fish into the net. Like the trawl, floats and weighted footrope keep the mouth of the net open and in contact with the seabed. This method of fishing takes place on grounds on the continental shelf and not in deep sea. Seine netting is for all forms of whitefish.
Twin beam trawling
The beam trawl is one where a beam, up to 12 metres in length, is attached to a skid at each end. The beam is situated on top of the skids effectively keeping the top of the net open and the fish are channelled between the skids. Two beam trawls are deployed alongside each other from outrigger booms on each side of the boat. This method is primarily for taking flatfish but these vessels can be used also for scallop dredging.
Twin rig trawl
This method is to use two trawls side by side. Three wires attach to this combination. Instead of having individual wires connected to each of the nets sides, a common wire attaches to the two inner sides and the outer sides of each net are wired individually. Again otter boards allow the net mouths to spread apart horizontally while floats and ground ropes provide the vertical forces. This gear is usually used for catching target fish such as monkfish, flatfish and nephrops.
Line fishing
Line fishing used no nets. Line fishing boats harnessed a single line, up to a kilometre long, that was trailed behind the vessel. At intervals along that line drop lines were suspended at the end of which was tied a large hook onto which bait was hung. Halibut, cod, haddock,
Fishing for pelagic species (fish occurring in mid and upper water)
Pelagic gears are designed to catch species such as herring, mackerel, scad, blue whiting and sprats. However pelagic fishing from boats from the Scottish east coast ports normally catch herring and an amount of blue whiting from the northern North Sea.
Methods
- Single boat pelagic trawl – similar to the demersal trawl but the gear is generally lighter, as it does not have to cope with dragging across the seabed.
- Pelagic pair trawling – operate in a similar method to the demersal pair trawl and again with lighter gear.
Ancillary industries
- Boat Builders
- Fish Curers
- Coopers
- Net Makers
- Rope Makers
- Sale Makers
- Fish Salesmen (auctioneers) and Ship Chandlers
- Fish Processors
- Whaling in Scotland
References
- Herring Fishing in Scotland: Coull, Dr J.R.