Fish landings at Peterhead topped £200 million for the first time ever last year, initial figures show.
The value of pelagic fish, whitefish and shellfish laid down on the quayside was up by 3.5% on 2017, from £195,349,032 to £202,215,350. Tonnage also increased by 1.4%, from 171,661 in 2017 to 173,996.
The value of pelagic landings increased by 15%, up from £60,031,587 in 2017 to £69,122,937, while the tonnage increased marginally from 102,921 to 103,012.
And whitefish values and boxes landed rose by 2.3% and 8.6% respectively, from £123,980,690 to £126,832,145 and 1,325,536 to 1,439,098.
“It has been a very good year for fish landings,” said Peterhead Port Authority chief executive Simon Brebner.
“The advent of the new fishmarket has allowed boats to land without delays or capacity constraints and attain good prices for their consistently high quality catches. On the pelagic side, mackerel prices have remained very strong.
“Quota cuts for 2019 may well have an impact, however the industry can be assured that the value and quality of fish landed and processed in Peterhead, the largest whitefish port in Europe, will be maintained.
“Following on from our AA British Retail Consortium rating for the fishmarket, we are woking with Seafish to become the first port to apply for Responsible Fishing Port Scheme accreditation.”
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