Harbour report: Fish police, record breaking cod and big Europeans dipping their tanks
Cod reached its highest price in at least a decade and a half, possibly ever, on Tuesday — at £8.77 a kilogram.
The record-breaking box, landed by trawler Comrades, bucked a more mixed picture for prices the rest of the week.
Mackerel and megrim were both way up, but some of the smaller common species were “pretty poor” according to agents LHD.
The cheapest haddock went for just 1p per kilogram.
Meanwhile it was a busy week for the bigger boats.
Pelagic trawlers Gollenes and Radek were in from Norway to land mackerel, joined by plenty more empty pelagics making touch-and-go stops, and some long-line jiggers with fish.
Others, including Irish Girl Stephanie, were in to have their tanks dipped by government officials — a way of corroborating reported catches.
Patrol vessel Jura also arrived on Tuesday, and left by 8am the following day.
2 Slow 4 U, apparently a yacht, arrived on Tuesday night (later than expected) and found a Norwegian neighbour in Nyda the next morning.
Further afield, a group of itinerant, traditional German craftspeople (or wandergeselle) who became trapped in Lerwick harbour earlier this summer not only made it off island, but were spotted stagging an reunion in a castle at the foot of the Harz mountains. Gute Reise.
Fish prices: brill £12.40-13.60; catfish £2.41-5; cod £1.40-8.77; dogfish 18p-£1.02; eel £1; gurnard 40p-£1.60; haddock 1p-£6.75; haddock round 25-85p; hake £2.95-11.75; halibut £13-20.90; herring 30-43p; John Dory 10p-£4.50; lemon sole 59p-£16.21; ling £2.01-4.60; lythe £1.86-7.81; mackerel £1.17-3.41; megrims £1.40-£15.12; monkfish £1.90-6.10; plaice 33p-£6.57; saithe £1-4.18; skate £1.24-3.18; squid £1-4.41; turbot £12.20-35.50; tusk £1.18-3.03; whiting £2.21-4.11; whiting round 22p-£2.58; witches £1.64-4.75.