News from Mallaig Harbour: July 2019
The big news this month is, of course, Robert MacMillan’sretiral after 35 years. I’ve been lucky enough to spend a month with him‘learning the ropes’ before he left, and on his last day, Friday 28thJune, we had a small gathering in the Harbour Office, where he was serenaded byAudrey and Grace and their ‘Duelling Banjos’ before enjoying a fewrefreshments. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement Robert!
Good Luck to Greig Milligan of Milligan transport who hastaken delivery of the ‘Vega De Lyra’, a 23 metre cargo / general workboatoriginally built in HAR Shipyard, Marin, Spain in 2009.
The ‘Vega De Lyra’ (Vega is the brightest star in theconstellation of Lyra) is the fourth boat in the Milligan Transport fleet.
Following on from last month’s news of the ‘Safe Arrival’bound for Greenland, we are pleased to report that Gabriel Clarke and JamesStevenson landed safely at Nuuk in Greenland on the morning of 14thJune after a stormy passage. All are safe and well.
The second Mallaig Marina Day took place on Saturday 8thJune, and was once again blessed with good weather. As with last year, thelifeboat moored alongside the pontoon and was open to visitors, and WesternIsles Cruises ran free RIB trips, while children were entertained by a bouncycastle and bucking bronco. The RNLI and Fishermen’s Mission also had stalls,including face painting. Thanks toPimmy, who did most of the organising, and to Ben Gunn and his crew who mannedthe barbecue!
This month has also seen the use of an ‘autonomous vessel’ (unmanned boat), which has been undertaking hydrographic surveys around the local coast. You can find more details of the vessel and how it operates at www.xocean.com.
Our Annual Report is published in June, and below are someextracts from this:
Fish Landings/Dues
Landing volumes and monetary values for the currentyear, the two previous years plus two other random years (for comparativepurposes) are listed:
| Volume in Tonnes | |||||
| Year ended 31st March | Herring | Sprats/ Mackerel | White fish | Shellfish | Total Value |
| 1978 | 9,483 | 10,425 | 3,712 | 887 | £7,640,036 |
| 1984 | 405 | 1,582 | 5,373 | 1,055 | £5,195,726 |
| 2017 | 0 | 2037 | 885 | 1542 | £9,644,837 |
| 2018 | 410 | 1375 | 566 | 1184 | £7,642,865 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 397 | 752 | £4,746,544 |
Quaysideprices were, once again, an improvement on the previous year as regards whitefish landings but this increase was not replicated in the shellfish sector:-
Yearend 31st March 2019 Whitefish £1,927 per tonne Shellfish £5,296 per tonne
Year end31st March 2017 Whitefish £1,734 per tonne Shellfish £5,322 per tonne
Thestatistical table above illustrates just how poor the fishing is for vesselsoperating in the South Minch area. Thecatch value in 2019 is less than the value of landings in 1984 – 35 years agoand 50% less than the catch value of 2017. Shellfish landings and white fish landings are both down by approx. 50%so it’s an extremely worrying time for vessel owners attempting to keep theirbusinesses financially viable.
As wellas dwindling catches in the white fish and prawn sector there was to be no endof year financial boost for the local fishing fleet. The normally reliable sprat fishery was acomplete washout with no sprats landed whatsoever – another mystifyingsituation!
CalMac/Tourism
The amount of cars and passengers conveyed on theCalMac ferries based at Mallaig during the year – MV “Loch Bhrusda”; MV “LochFyne”; MV “Lochnevis”; and MV “Lord of The Isles” – indicates a downturn whencompared to the previous year. Whilstcommercial vehicles and coaches are pretty much on a par with the 2018 figurespassenger figures are down by 3.2% and cars by 6.1%:
1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019
Passengers: 343,847 Passengers : 332,944
Cars: 82,230 Cars : 77,181
Coaches: 2,375 Coaches : 2,367
Commercials: 851 Commercials : 825
It may seem surprising that figures are recessionaryparticularly as the Mallaig – Armadale route is the fifth most popular route asthe CalMac network, but when you factor in the amount of disruption thatoccurred the summer of 2018 you begin to understand why reduced numbers areevident.
It has been well documented particularly by the SleatTransport Forum that the number of cancellations for varying reasons in 2018was in excess of 380 with a further 276 pre-cancelled services due to tidalissues. This equates to massivedisruption on the Skye Ferry Service.
Usage of theMarina, once again, showed a slight increase on the previous year but any majorincrease in usage is constrained by the size of the marina.
Overnight
Occupancy Short Stay Locals
2018 1602 54 65
2017 1547 42 65
2013 1338 81 60
In addition to the above a further 48 vessels made use of theMoorings at the Marina – the moorings were fully utilized during the summermonths.
The current membership of the Mallaig Harbour Authority is aslisted below:
Charles King (Chairman)
GavinDavis (Vice Chair) re-appointedApril 2019
Robert MacMillan (CEO) (Jacqueline McDonell from June2019)
Michael Foxley
Allan Henderson
John MacMillan
James Wilson
Jacqueline Wright
Lorna Spencer New Appointment April 2019
Jacqueline McDonell, CEO
info@mallaigharbourauthority.com