A local fisherman has vowed to continue using a small pier in the north mainland to land shellfish despite moves by Shetland Islands Council to close it over safety fears.
The dilapidated pier at Toft, which has not been repaired in years has now developed a second hole, is set to be fenced off this week.
Sidney Johnson, skipper of the Golden Shore scallop boat, said shell fishermen would continue to use the pier despite the council’s orders as suggested alternatives – such as Collafirth or Sellaness – were not suitable due to their location.
“We’re not stopping using the pier. We’re not going anywhere until they provide us with a good alternative,” Johnson said.
SIC infrastructure director Maggie Sandison said if people continue to use the pier against the council’s orders then the local authority may look into demolishing the structure, which would cost as much as £600,000.
Johnson claimed the council had failed fishermen by allowing the pier to fall into disrepair despite it being the second most important pier for shellfish landings in Shetland.
According to data released by the NAFC Marine Centre, 14 per cent of the 2,000 tonnes of crabs, lobsters and scallops landed in Shetland in 2015 were brought ashore at Toft. Only in Lerwick (25%) more shellfish is landed.
Sandison responded by saying the council was not generating enough income from the pier, as fishermen were not paying all the landing levies the SIC was due.
“Toft up to not long ago didn’t have any proper running water, it didn’t even have a tap on it. It doesn’t have any power, or any proper access due to the state that it’s in.”
Johnson said a hole formed around two years ago when a forklift carrying salmon feed breached weight limits on the pier, but nothing had been done to fix it, with the condition progressively getting worse.
Sandison said: “Our biggest issue at the moment is that we have looked at the business case for a replacement pier and you cannot justify the investment in the Toft pier from the economic benefits that it delivers to the community, and the income that the council generates.
“One of the issues is that our income generation from the facilities that we provide isn’t being realised, so when we’re looking at whether we invest in the new Scalloway fish market, or replacing a pier, clearly the Scalloway fish market makes a lot of money for the council, whereas the Toft pier costs a lot of money and doesn’t make money for the council.”
But Johnson said the pier could be improved by spending a “few thousand on it”.