Peterhead Port Authority has set a new record for fish landings, with £226 million worth of catches traded across the quaysides by the end of November 2023.
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That beat the total for 2022 of £220 million, itself a record in the modern era. Total landings to 30 November 2023 stood at 189,805 tonnes with a gross value of £225,947,904, compared to 162,780 tonnes worth £211,603,580 for the same period in 2022.
Of those, whitefish accounted for 52,765 tonnes worth £96,785,286 (46,925 tonnes worth £94,668,717 in 2022).
Pelagic stocks reached 131,534 tonnes worth £113,082,365 (108,137 tonnes worth £94,957,381 in 2022).
The shellfish figures were lower, 5,506 tonnes worth £16,079,913 (7,718 tonnes worth £21,977,482 in 2022).
Peter Duncan, PPA head of fishing – commercial, said: “It has been a very successful year for landings, with a notable increase in pelagic landings due to the landings obligation more than compensating for a decline in shellfish landings.
“Whitefish landings are slightly ahead for the year also, and improved quotas for 2024 for most of the key commercial stocks bode well for the future.
Port with first-class facilities has promising future
“The port offers first-class facilities and infrastructure for the landing and selling of fish, with the maintenance of quality at the heart of everything we do, and is constantly seeking ways to improve its contribution to the seafood supply chain.”
In other news, the port was delighted to receive grant funding of over £220,000 from ETZ, the not-for-profit company behind the energy transition in the north-east of Scotland. The money, awarded from the ETZ Challenge Fund, will go towards the construction of two-berth pontoons within the inner harbour designed for crew transfer vessels (CTV) used in the offshore renewables sector. This will help the port attract new investment and accelerate business growth in the low carbon sector and create jobs.
Peterhead Port is no stranger to offshore renewables, providing as it does a dedicated berth for CTV vessels operating on the Hywind project 18 miles off Peterhead, the world’s first commercial offshore wind farm using floating turbines.
The port was also involved in the construction of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), the offshore wind test and demonstration facility developed by Vattenfall off the Aberdeenshire coast. The port accommodated floating cranes with a maximum lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes and barges that transported turbine foundations to the wind farm.
With up to 20 GW of offshore renewables due to be developed in the next decade under ScotWind and INTOG, opportunities abound, and Peterhead is geographically ideally positioned to support major projects.
O&M has been identified as a key component of this support, and beyond the Hywind CTV the port had 63 other CTV calls during 2022 and 2023 to date.
PPA chief financial officer Stephen Paterson said: “These are exciting times at Peterhead, with the transition to lower carbon forms of energy production likely to determine the nature and mix of energy related activities at the port.
“The opportunities are huge, and the Board and staff of PPA are focused on ensuring the Port is in the best position possible to support growth, from facilities to services”.
